Just my Luck
by bubbrlove
Summary: You are sold at an auction and are now at the mercy of the King, but despite his attitude and circumstances you end up finding yourself falling for him. What happens when another man takes your heart also? Caught between two men, who will you choose? Does contain smut and offensive language.
1. Trouble

I stare at the dark cloth covering the cage I sit in, trying to burn a hole through it with my glare. I give myself a once over and try to take a deep breath, wearing a small white nightgown that barely covered my thighs; I begin to get self conscious.

"And our last item up for sale is..." the cloth gets whipped off me and a strange man wearing too much make up and a funny hat shows me off to the audience filled hall. "a young, healthy New Zealand woman." The audience oohs and aahs at the sight of me, many older looking men have devilish smiles. "Keep her as a toy, use her as a slave, do what you will. She is all yours." A few snickers can be heard and I glare up at the auctioneer. "Let's start the bidding at $500,000. $1 million from #5. $1.2 million from #18." I look behind me as the numbers flash on the screen and look out to see if I can see who the bidders are; all that I can think of is some creepy old man putting his hands all over me.

 _To think, I went to work this morning thinking this was going to be a good day. How the hell did I end up here?_

 **12 hours earlier...**

"Good morning." I swing the door open to the locker room like always. Being a maid wasn't my first job choice but this hotel, one owned by the Ichinomiya Group; a large company with many different companies, was one of the finest hotels in Japan. It was an opportunity for me and my friends when we came over for a holiday, they did it to humour me; I applied to get away from the life I was living back home.

"Good morning Alice." Kaya smiles as she always does. "The I.V.C begins today, it will be our first one! I'm so excited." I just laugh at her infectious smile. I am a little bit older than her and our other friend Lexi but we are all really close and they both have made the move easier for me.

"I'm sure you'll be busy since you got the job in the casino, I'm super jealous about that. Things won't be much different for me though, I just do the regular guests." We work at Hotel Tres Spades, it's Japan's first casino and hotel that was built 5 years ago when they legalised casinos. "It would be nice to work the I.V.C too."

"Maybe next time?" Kaya starts to get excited. "There's going to be movie stars, top athletes, models and so many famous people from all over the world! What if some rich, famous guy falls in love with me at first sight?" I snort at her excitement.

"Yes darl, because that's exactly what you want. Love." She punches me in response and we head out. The I.V.C "International VIP Convention" is the largest event that Tres Spades hosts as it brings in a lot of international publicity. We were lucky to get hired two weeks before it started! As we leave for the lobby, we notice a large group of reporters and onlookers are gathered around and manage to spot Lexi; she waves at us and points towards the door. We make our way through the crowd and celebrities are walking through after each other. I get a nudge in the ribs.

"Oh my God, Alice. Look who just got out of the limo." A few hushed whispers reach my ears. _Is that the King?_ I look in the direction everyone else is and try to get glimpse. I see a tall man with dark brown hair, wearing a black and lavender suit, walking towards us, surrounded by woman that look like models and actresses. _Shit he must be famous._

"He's been living here for some time now, up in the penthouse." Kaya and I stare wide-eyed at Lexi.

"Shit! That costs tens of thousands just to stay ONE night. Seriously, what does this guy do for a living?" We watch him walk past, paying no attention to the crowd but I just can't seem to take my eyes off him.

"Eisuke is here!" A group of woman come flying out of nowhere and bump into me and I fall out of the crowd but before I hit the ground a strong hand wraps around me, practically hugging me. I stare up at the man they call the King.

"Shit, I'm so sorry." Before I can even explain what happened, his groupies start in on me like hyenas.

"What do you think you are _doing_?!"

"How DARE you touch Eisuke."

"Look, I'm really so-" My face starts going bright red. I start regretting this decision.

"Get out of the way." Eisuke pulls away and I fall flat on my ass, he brushes himself off, shoots me a cold glare and carries on into the hotel. As hot as my face is, a shiver shoots down my spine. _Well that was scary._ Rubbing my backside, I try to slink back from the crowd when my friends run up to me, both laughing but also showing concern.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Kaya smacks my ass and I wince.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Tall, dark and kingly caught you in his arms." Lexi raises her eyebrows at me, trying to make a dig. "Was it a good trip?"

"Honestly guys?" They laugh at me. I wouldn't admit it to them but he seemed pretty frightening, I've had many stares from strangers before but none ever so cold. I smooth out my uniform as I hear the click-clack of high heels behind me. I groan.

"Just what were you thinking, making a fool out of yourself in front of such an important guest?"

"Erika." I try to smile politely but I could feel Kaya and Lexi tense up beside me.

"Yeah, just what were you thinking?" These woman have never liked me, Erika, for some reason goes out of her way to make my life hell and twins Rina and Kana, hang on like bad smells.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident..." I try to explain.

"No, it was you not paying attention to what was going on around you. What are you doing hanging around anyway? You are meant to be in charge of _regular_ guests, not VIP. Maybe if you were half decent at your job, you would get promoted like Lexi!" I can just hear the whispered curse under Lexi's breath. _You bitch!_ Her posse humph beside her, folding their arms. "Now, to make up for your embarrassing act; go to every floor and deliver all the special spa packages for the guests staying."

"What? By myself?" A vein begins to throb in my neck.

"You got a problem with that?" I feel a hand on my arm and sigh. These two girls are probably why I never lose my cool, always centered me when I was about to explode.

"No, I'll go and do it." I say goodbye to Kaya and Lexi and make my way to the elevator that leads to the basement, as I reach the elevator I see a man and woman arguing in front of the elevator. The woman looks really pissed and throws a mask at the man.

"I can't take it anymore. Go to hell, you cheating bastard!" The mask looks like something you would wear to a masquerade ball, the man picks it up, brushes it off and sighs.

"Now I don't have a date." _Wow, he got over that quickly._ I try to sneak away as if I saw nothing but he catches me. "You saw that, didn't you?" _Damn._ "Don't run away now. Come with me, I'll explain everything when we arrive." I try to move away but he grabs me and drags me into the elevator. I stand awkwardly while the man watches me with a large smile across his face. "I am so lucky to have found another beautiful woman for the party at such short notice."

"Um, sir you don't mean the I.V.C?" His smile confirmed it before he said anything.

"Look at me, where else would I be going?" The man was unrecognizable to me but he did look like he could be a model with that suit and hat. _Shit, shit, shit I am so dead._

"What about the other woman?" He raises an eyebrow.

"She had to leave so we could meet. My dear, it was destiny that you were there. Fate wanted us to be here together." His light brown eyes almost shine as he strokes my chin. _This guy moves super fast, it's no wonder he got dumped._

"But I work here..." Before I can get out the rest of my feeble excuse, the elevator dings and I am yet again being dragged around, this time into a large ballroom. The first thing I notice, apart from hundreds of people, is a gorgeous chandelier hanging from the ceiling. I stare at all the people around me, all rich and famous and try to figure out if I know any of them; I didn't even notice the man who dragged me here had left.

"Hey, do you have any champagne?" A voice behind me startles me. I turn to face it when I see a gorgeous man with soft, wavy blonde hair and a face which is known to anyone who has been to art museums.

"Ota Kisaki?" I gap at him.

"So you know who I am? Thanks." He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear.

"I am sorry, I didn't mean to be rude." This man is beautiful, he also works as a model which isn't surprising as his face is like a porcelain doll. "I'll go find you some champagne." As I turn to try and find where the champagne would be, Mr. Kisaki chuckles.

"Are you sure you work here?" I give him my best smile, and point out my name tag. "Well, Alice, you look like you stumbled across the Mad Hatter's party."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." He shakes his head with amusement. "Oh look, champagne. Get back home safely, Alice." He smiles and waves his goodbye. _Alice stumbling onto the Mad Hatter's party? What a strange double entendre._ I slowly back away before I get into trouble when a stocky, sweaty man blocks my path; he grins at me and takes my hand. The hairs stand up on the back of my neck.

"You're very lovely." He licks his lips. "I love girls like you. How about you come up to my room and give me some special room service? I promise you will be tipped generously." I vomit a little in my mouth while he looks me over.

"I'm sorry, _sir,_ " I strain the word out. "We don't offer that kind of service here."

"You are very lucky you met me. I'm worth over $500 million." He slips an arm around my waist and tries to pull me towards him. _Ugh, not even if you were the last man on Earth, buddy._

 _"_ This party just got trashy." The man that I bumped into in the lobby is suddenly beside me. The King, they call him. He doesn't look much older than I am but with a nickname like that, he must have a huge ego. He turns his nose up at me and scowls. "You again."

"Sorry?" I blink, a little confused.

"You're in my way. Move." His harsh tone doesn't move me but the sleazy man couldn't move fast enough.

"Sorry Mr. Ichinomiya! Pardon me." He bows and runs away quicker than he slinked in. He called that man Ichinomiya, that's the group who own this hotel; that would be why he's called the King. Mr. Ichinomiya's groupies push past me making snide remarks about the help needing to learn their place but I just watch him walk away when I see a white glove dropped behind him. It looks like a glove you would handle paintings or artifacts and even though every bone in my body told me to go back to work; I ignore it.

"Sir, excuse me?" I try to chase after Mr. Ichinomiya but with the crowd as large as it is, I seem to have lost him. I wander through until I see the back of his head talking to someone by the back of the ballroom. _Kind of hard to lose a guy who wears black and lavender._ I snicker to myself as I make my way through the crowd to follow him. "Where the hell did he go?" A long, deserted hallway stretches out in front of me with multiple doors so I walk down until I hear voices through a slightly open door, I decide to have a peep and see several briefcases lying on a table, filled with guns and money. I can feel my fight or flight response kick in when a Chinese man roughly grabs me and forces me against the wall. My heart feels like it's going to explode.

"What do you think you are doing?" A tall man with slicked back black hair and almost black eyes pins me up against the wall. His grey suit and black shirt with a white tie brings alarm bells in my mind. He doesn't seem to be messed with.

"I was looking for someone." I begin to shake.

"You better look elsewhere. If you don't disappear and forget what you saw," he stares right into my eyes. "I'll wipe you off the face of the Earth." I swallow as I agree and feel the blood rush back into my arms. _That is going to bruise._ I don't even look where I'm going as I run off towards the basement storage room, tripping over myself as I go. I take a few breaths and try to slow down my racing heart as I enter the storage room, I war with myself on what I just seen _. If Lexi or Kaya were here.._.no I cannot let myself think about that and I can't let the boss know about this as it's basically signing my death certificate. I try to shake my head and collect what I came down here for. _Fucken Erika and her psycho bitchiness got me into this mess._ I curse her under my breath and without looking I step right back into someone.

"Shit!" Two men in black suits stare down at the crate I just caused them to drop.

"You stupid bitch! You broke the statue of Venus!" I look down to see shattered glass through the wooden mess.

"I'm sorry!" I have never apologised so much in my life. This job must really be getting to me.

"Yeah, you are going to be sorry. Do you know how important that piece was? It was going to fetch a nice price in the auction tonight." _Auction?_ "How do you think you are going to make up for this?"

"Look guys, nobody was supposed to be down here..."

"Don't go trying to blame us. You broke it, you owe us." They reach out and grab me by the arms...

* * *

"$2 million from #32. Going once.." That's how I ended up in another shitty situation and as daunting as it is I just couldn't believe someone was actually bidding $2 million for me. A face flashes before me: the sweaty little man from the ballroom, I shiver at that thought. I would probably prefer the threat from the Chinese man then him. "Going twice..." How desperate does he have to be to buy a woman at that price? I hang my head and pray I don't vomit but a whole lot of commotion catches my ears. "Looks like we have a new bid coming in of $20 million from Seat #100" _What the -_ "Are there any more bids?" I gap at the screen behind me dumbfounded, that's a lot of zeros. The bell rings as the auctioneer brings the bidding to a close. "SOLD! To seat #100 for $20 million" As the curtain drops, all I can think of is how I'm going to get out of this mess.

I am helped out of the cage and approached by two masked men. They seem familiar...

"This way please." One reaches out for my hand and I stare at it. _If I end up dead, I swear I'm going to haunt that bitch._ I reluctantly take it and use the other hand to hold down the skimpy white nightgown as they take me into an elevator. I count my blessings that it's not a van...yet.

It takes a long time for the elevator to ding and that entire time I was thinking about how my expansive action movie watching would help in this situation. If I took one down the other would manage to subdue me and in this dress, I don't want to flash anyone or have anyone touch me. As we enter the room, I realise where we are. The penthouse. The only staff member who is ever allowed up here is the manager and yet she doesn't know there are auctions being run in her hotel.

"Boss, we brought her." I am placed in front of two men sitting on the sofa, both had their legs crossed. I recognise both of them straight away.

"You're..." One holds his hand up to silence me.

"We bought you." The other glares at me.

"So we caught you in the end." I am dead. My funeral flashes before me, wait no, no funeral because how would they explain a missing maid from the most prestigious hotel penthouse winding up dead?

"You know this woman, Soryu?" The first man seemed surprised. The only response he got was a nod.

"What the hell do you mean, you bought me? You can't just go around buying people! That's human trafficking and that's illegal buddy." I try to make myself seem brave but all I get back is laughter.

"We won you and for $20 million, the boss must have gotten dragged into it." The two men take their masks off and I kick myself for not recognising them earlier.

"Mr. Kisaki?" I look at the other man wearing a striking red suit. "You're the man who dragged me to the I.V.C, probably causing this mess for me." I tried to stand up but Mr. Kisaki pushes my shoulder down with some force.

"She doesn't even know your name, Baba. That's not unusual, is it?" All the other man could do was hold his hands up in defence.

"There wasn't much time." The conversation seems a little too light for my liking and I soon snap.

"I am a human being." The men look at me with different expressions. "I don't care if you won me, I shouldn't have even been in that claustrophobic cage in the first place!" Baba just smirks.

"Anything and everything is up for sale, for the right price."

"Stolen goods, secret information, organ donors and you can even hire a hitman." Ota Kisaki holds up a finger as if it's just a normal thing to say. "There are no rules here." _Well I bloody see that_.

"This _is_ the first time an actual person has been up for sale so you must have done something really bad, huh?" I shake my head to try forget the memory of the statue of Venus shattered on the ground.

"Are you guys not listening? This **ILLEGAL**! Who the hell would approve this?"

"I did." I look gobsmacked at Eisuke Ichinomiya, who folds his arms and smirks down at me. "If it's worth anything, it's here."

"Ha, reckless as always. Look at her. She isn't worth anything more than a headache." Soryu shakes his head.

"Wouldn't it be fun thinking of ways we could use her?" My heart drops and I feel sick to my stomach. I open my mouth to retort but am quickly silenced. "Who gave you permission to speak?"

"What?" He glares at me, chilling me to the core.

"Don't open your mouth unless I say so." I feel an act of defiance working it's way up and just to get at them, I open my mouth.

"Would you rather we gave you to that man from before?" My mouth quickly closes and I shake my head. I stand by my word, rather death by Chinese hunk then sold to that man.

"Come now guys. You should be nice to girls because if you are then they do what you ask them to." Baba smiles at me and tousles my hair. "Plus we need to decide who actually GETS her." Ota takes his hand of my shoulders and helps me to my feet.

"I wouldn't mind her. I'm pretty fond of her already." I look around at the four men. They have got to be joking.

"If it was me, my sweet. You would be fine, nothing to be afraid of. I'm a good guy." I try not to snort.

"Of course a world class thief would say that." Eisuke tilts his head slightly at Baba. _Thief?_

 _"_ Oh, come on. You're just trying to make Baba look bad. You have plenty of groupies. Just play with one of them." Ota smiles at him. I still stand in shock in how this conversation seems to normal for them.

"Soryu's the one who can have his fair share of woman, a lot of them would do _anything_ to be a Hong Kong mobster's love interest." _That's why he's shit scary._ I shake myself to my senses.

"Sorry to break up this lovely chat but you are all going to be screwed when I report this to the police." They all seem to laugh at that comment as Soryu points over to a worn-out man smoking by an open window.

"Go ahead." A sigh comes with a cloud of smoke.

"Damn it, just go ahead and blow my cover to every person you decide to drag up here." He takes another puff.

"Otherwise she would never know Mr. Detective." Ota laughs as the response he is given is the middle finger. "Oh, such an adult."

"Wait. Hold up. You are a detective?" I stare at him in disbelief as he shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm not wasting anymore time." Eisuke groans and shakes his head. "We need to come to a decision." He stands in front of me, arms crossed. I take a step back. "I'll let you choose, so hurry up and make a decision." He says coldly.


	2. My Choice?

_No apology  
_ _He'll never see you cry  
_ _Pretend he doesn't know  
_ _That he's the reason why  
_ _You're drowning, you're drowning, you're drowning_

* * *

 **ALICE**

I stare in disbelief at the words that just came out of his mouth. _I get to choose. Choose who basically imprisons me, who BOUGHT me. Ugh why do I always attract the weird ones._

"Okay, if I get to decide can I have a moment to myself." Every one of them looks at Mr. Ichinomiya who begrudgingly nods at me.

"Make it quick, or I will decide instead." What a _gentleman_. They watch me as I move across to the other side of a room, towards a window and I stare at them in return.

"So I have a choice," I whisper to myself, fully aware that they can see my lips moving. "I have one of five options, well six if you consider being sold to someone else an option." I shiver at the thought. I look at the detective, slightly messy dark grey hair, 5 o'clock shadow, a cigarette hanging in his mouth, a plain grey suit that seems fitting for most detective movies; he seems disinterested by what's going on. "I could have a slacker detective or the womanizing thief." I look at Baba, red suit, black pants with a striking white tie to contrast the ensemble, a hat neatly sitting on his brown hair and a smile plastered across his face as we make eye contact; he winks. "Who's very confident in his skills. I could pick the scary looking mobster or the boyish, strange artist." I look at Ota Kisaki and Soryu, they are striking opposites. Ota: blonde, boyish smile, bright eyes and a blue pinstripe shirt hanging openly over a plain white shirt, a necklace noticeable against his pale skin. Soryu: dark mood, dark features. His eyes shoot daggers at me while he sits cross legged and arms crossed. "Or last but not least, the "Jack Frost" of the group." Mr. Ichinomiya sits cooly, calculating and getting annoyed. His features handsomely chiseled against a fitting suit. "How the fuck am I going to choose." I sigh.

"Time's up." I look over at them and see them waiting, some more excited than others. "I will not wait any longer. Choose." I quickly run things over in my head, maybe if I ask them questions I can make up my mind.

"May I ask each of you a question first?" Mr. Ichinomiya seems more annoyed than before but Baba answers first.

"Well, it would be rude not to let you." I nod, slightly thankful for his charming demeanor.

"Detective," He blows a puff of smoke out the window. "You seem pretty disinterested in this affair even though you know it's illegal, why allow these to happen when you could easily arrest them?" He places a hand on his head.

"Jeez kid, you are a headache. You don't know half of what you are saying, so you wouldn't even comprehend my reasons." Yeah, I'm 24 and am not a child.

"Baba," he bows in response to his name, "How many woman would I have to watch you chase, if I were to choose you?" He seems surprised by my question. He places one hand on his chin, trying to think of an answer but the fact that he had to even think made it clear to me. "Sorry, time's up." He looks at me in surprise, a chuckle coming from behind him. "Mr. Kisaki, what would I be to you?"

"You would be my pet, of course." _What the fuck?_ "I would look after you, clean you, feed you and you would obey me." I hold up a hand to stop him.

"Yeah, okay. That's some kinky shit." He looks away, looking slightly upset. "Mr. Mob Boss, would I be in any danger?"

"Why would you be? It's not like you would be going anywhere or doing anything. You would be under 24/7 surveillance because I don't trust woman like you." So in other words, on ball and chain. No thank you.

"Mr. Ichinomiya." He glares at me but I try not to let it dissuade me. "How normal would my life be, if you _bought_ me?" I emphasis my distaste for the word.

"I don't care. You will obey what I ask, when I ask but other than that, I really don't care what you do with your life." So basically, he would be my boss. Choice seems pretty easy but before I say the word, Mr. Ichinomiya stands up and grabs my wrist. "No more games, I've decided for you." He drags me from the room.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Her attitude was beginning to annoy me. I doubt she even realised that we couldn't let her go because we don't trust her to not say anything to anyone; if she did there would be no telling what would happen. She sits on the bed with a pillow on her lap, the nightgown was short but I'm not wanting that from her.

"Take off your gown." Her blue eyes widen at my command, but she doesn't budge.

"You can't do that to me, I do not consent." Her response angers me, why would I want that from her? I could have my pick of woman much more beautiful than her.

"I don't think you understand." My glare becomes very cold, she squirms a little. "I own you. When I say something, the only response you are allowed is 'yes' or 'okay'; when I order you to do something you have 5 five seconds to do it, do you understand that?" Her eyes narrow in defiance but she nods. "Good. Now show me your chest."

I expect her to question or refuse but her actions throw me off my guard, I do my best to hide it.

"This good enough for ya?" Instead of meekly obeying, she decides to yank the gown and expose her cleavage. _She would almost be fun if she was half interesting._ She doesn't any burns on her chest and I got my answer. Without saying another word, I leave her in the room.

"Fucken jackass." Was all I hear behind me as I close the door, her anger bringing a slight smile to my face. _She's definitely intriguing, maybe I could find a good use for her._

I am met with the other guys waiting outside of the room with interested smiles on their faces.

"What are you idiots smiling about?" I fold my arms and throw them all a glare. Soryu tilts his head at me.

"What are you going to do with her?" I turn my head towards the noise coming from the room. "She's got a mouth on her."

"I think I have the perfect idea what to do with her." I smile coldly at them.

* * *

 **ALICE**

Giant, egotistical prick! I watch as he leaves the room, cursing him as he goes. I curl up under the blankets, making extra sure I make a mess of it and look out at the beautiful scenery that's stretched out before me because I highly doubt I would be allowed to leave tonight.

When I flashed Mr. Ichinomiya, he just stared and left; not in embarrassment but more disappointment. My mother always said I had a foul mouth but I wanted him to hear every single word I could say, I didn't even hide it when I called him a jackass when he left. Yet, I can hear him telling the rest of the guys that he has an idea on what to do with me. He doesn't let things go easy, no surprise as he does belong to the Ichinomiya Group but doesn't explain his reasons for holding onto me. Suddenly, Mr. Kisaki and Baba appear in the doorway with smiles on their faces.

"Wow, the bed's a mess. He already had his way with you?" They seem more amused than they should be.

"Mr. Kisaki? Mr..." Mr. Kisaki just laughs.

"He's done such a good job that she's forgotten you, Baba."

"My full name is Mitsunari Baba, you can call me whatever you like my dear." I throw myself back onto the pillows.

"What do you two want?"

"Ignored." Mr. Kisaki nudges Baba in the ribs but he doesn't seemed swayed.

"All we have to do is get to know each other, Ota. What is your name?" I roll my eyes.

"Really, it's been nearly an hour after you dragged me up here and you want to know my name NOW?" They smile at me, waiting. "Ugh, my name is Alice Wallace. Now either tell me what you want or else let me go to sleep." They look at each other in amazement.

"We were told to show you around, pretty irresponsible for Eisuke not to take care of his own things, right? Almost like an owner who neglects his pet." Yes, you have a strange fetish, I get it. Baba looks at me, stroking his chin as if he's trying to recall something.

"You work here, don't you?"

"Yes, Sherlock. You both met me earlier today," I point a finger at Baba. "I also blame you for this mess." _Well, not just you._ He takes a step back, raising his hands in defence. "If it wasn't for you, I would have gotten my job done before those men came into the basement and I would be in my own bed right now." Baba suddenly smiles.

"So you have bad luck?" I look at him in shock and hang my head.

"Yeah, guess you could say that."

"But now you have met five stunning princes, so I guess in a way, I changed your luck around." I laugh at his comment, more like five prison guards.

"Eisuke's more a dictator than a prince." Ota points out with a smile. I seriously cannot understand how these guys are so chill with everything. "What do you think?"

"You want the truth?" They nod. "He seems like he needs to be brought down a peg or two. He's cold, entitled and acts like he has shit on his shoe when he talks to certain people. He has money and likes to flaunt the fact that he can do whatever he wants because he can just pay whatever the price is." They look almost surprised.

"He did just buy you for $20 million." Ota tucks a stray strand of hair behind his ear. "But you cannot speak a work of it to anyone, okay?" I nod and get a smile in return. "Good girl."

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I sit on the couch in the living room, listening to what Baba and Ota were saying to her, to Alice.

"You want the truth? He seems like he needs to be brought down a peg or two. He's cold, entitled and acts like he has shit on his shoe when he talks to certain people. He has money and like to flaunt the fact that he can do whatever he wants because he can just pay whatever the price is." Her response both surprises and angers me but she does have the attitude that would fit well in for what I have planned, with some fine tuning, of course.

I pay little attention to them as they walk through my living room but I notice that Alice has taken the comforter off my bed and wrapped it around herself. _Who told her she could be in my bed?_ Even though, she tries to hide her reactions to the penthouse, I could see the slight changes in her voice when they showed her each room of the 52nd floor.

"If you ever want to see what the other rooms look like, feel free to come by my room." I watch her shoulders redden by the comment from Baba, he should know better than to try and play with my possessions.

"Hmmm, thanks but I think I'll make do." Baba just smiles at her response. He should be used to being shut down by woman by now, he takes her hand and beacons for her to follow him downstairs; leaving me to my work.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I end up sleeping still wrapped up in the comforter. When the morning sun shines through and wakes me up, I notice that, at sometime last night, my clothes I was wearing yesterday are folded on an armchair in the corner. I quickly change and notice the white glove that Mr. Ichinomiya dropped the day before, how funny was fate to create this form of ripple effect. After I change I go into the living room and see Mr. Ichinomiya reading off his laptop, drinking a cup of coffee. My stomach grumbles when I smell the sweet aroma and it's loud enough for him to notice. _Crap._

"Good morning, Mr. Ichinomiya." I give a slight bow, as I learnt is a customary way to say hello in Japan. "You dropped this yesterday at the party." I raise the glove up so he could see it. "Such a small thing caused such a big problem." I throw it onto the table by his laptop, anger quickly shooting across his face before it shifts back to his normal cold look.

"You'll be going to work from here, for now." His voice void of emotion.

"Okay." It was first thing in the morning and I didn't want to argue, yet I did want to see what buttons I could push. Sure enough, surprise was what I was granted before he curtly nods at me.

"You can use the same room as last night. Anything else you need, come and let me know. You will return to work and go about your job as usual until I figure out a good use for you." He waves a dismissive hand and I turn to leave. _I wonder what he was talking about last night._

I go down to the locker room and am changing into my uniform, thinking about the hectic evening before and feel my blood boil when a loud voice brings me back.

"Alice? Are you okay? You disappeared yesterday and all of a sudden we were told that you went home not feeling well." Kaya looks slightly worried about me, her forehead furrows.

"Yeah, I don't think I got a lot of sleep the other night, I had a terrible headache." I feel sick with myself lying to my friend but it's to protect her. When I left the penthouse this morning, Baba told me that I was to say I felt unwell and had to go home early. Normally I don't take sick days but I guess being the purchase in a black market auction changes things. "But I am alright now." I smile at her, not wanting Kaya to worry too much. "Let's go to the meeting."

Every morning we have a meeting so that each department knows what they should be doing and are updated on things to be improved upon. Mrs. Kenzaki, the general manager, gives us our daily instructions.

"We have many important guests staying with us due to the I.V.C, those of you on the front desk, make sure you pay special attention to them, we want them to keep coming back and refer our hotel to their colleagues. Clerks, your smile is the first thing our guests see; treat them as you would wish to be treated. While this event is happening the cleaning staff will place flower arrangements in every room, after they have had a long day the first thing they would want to do is relax and we want to make sure their private rooms are nice and relaxing." Mrs. Kenzaki is always on top of everything, big or small, she makes sure all the staff is doing their job the best they can and that all the guests are happy so no matter what issues I have going on right now, I need to make sure I do my job at 110%.

The lobby is decorated more extravagantly than anything I have ever seen before, our uniforms seem so plain compared to all the stylish guests; I see Mr. Ichinomiya surrounded by women like usual. He doesn't seem to be bothered by the attention but then he is used to being fawned over like a prince so the attention must get pretty boring after a while. He walks away from the group of woman towards the penthouse elevator, with a woman on his arm. She was beautiful: tall, long black hair, natural make up and breasts the size of melons but the smile on her face made her look as silly as the hoard that follows him. _There is no way that idiot is his girlfriend?_ I shake my head in surprise and try to think of a logical reason why I think that, to eliminate jealousy. Mr. Ichinomiya is too much of a handful for someone so... ditzy or is he actually nice to her? I feel a shock down my spine as Mr. Ichinomiya sees me watching him, he makes eye contact and I tense up nervously; he never even paid attention to me this morning so eye contact is a shocker. _Shit, now I have to deal with him after work...great._ I sigh and continue to the linen room.

I go around all the guests rooms, cleaning and checking like every day with a fellow maid but this time we place flower arrangements in all of them. The flowers are beautiful and the guests would love them, Mrs. Kenzaki definitely has an eye for detail.

"How ya going, Alice?" I look up and see Lexi's big smile poking through the door, her green blue eyes shining with excitement.

"Good, how's your end of the spectrum?" She exaggerates wiping sweat off her brow. "The flowers are definitely going to make the guests happy, they are amazing! But the extra amount of work we have to do to make sure everything is perfect is exhausting, would kill for a pie right now." I laugh at her, even when she's super busy Lexi still has time to smile and joke.

"The rooms are looking great." The hotel concierge, Takashiro stands behind Lexi, examining the room we just finished. "Keep up the great work. You are what makes our hotel stand out. Lexi smiles warmly at him, she's secretly crushed on him from day one and who could blame her; he pays everyone individual attention and always makes his staff feel valued. We all enter the hallway and go our separate ways as Erika comes into view.

"Good luck." Lexi places a hand on my shoulder. She has it easy, me? I seem to bring the worst out of people.

"I heard you left work early yesterday, Alice?" She folds her arms and looks me up and down. Her two parrots standing behind her. "It must be nice being a maid for regular guests because if your in charge of the V.I.P's you can't afford a day off." She looks almost upset by this, I start to feel sorry for her. "But even if you are an _ordinary_ maid, you shouldn't be such a slacker."

"Yeah, a slacker!" Yup, those feelings popped faster than they arrived.

"I was sick, Erika. Or would you rather me cough, sneeze and be sick all over the guest rooms?" She looks horrified at the thought.

"If you were that sick, why didn't you go back to the staff dormitory?" I ball my fists at her questioning, what's it to her anyway?

"Is your life that boring that you got to poke your nose around mine?" I sharply respond. I can't say where I was but I had to say something otherwise I looked like I was hiding something. Which I am. "I was at the hospital." Erika raises an eyebrow.

"I don't believe you for a second. You are so.. so.." She tries to think of a word when a voice calls from behind me.

"Alice, there you are." We turn to see Ota and Baba coming towards us and Erika bows deeply to greet them.

"It's the famous artist Ota Kisaki."

"The other guy looks like he's famous too." Rina and Kana both have their hands to their mouths in shock. If only Kaya and Lexi could see them look this stunned, it would definitely make their day.

"Hey guys." I wave out to them. Erika glares at me.

"How do you know Mr. Kisaki?" She searches my face for an answer, I am almost stunned as I haven't got a good one that wouldn't get me in trouble.

"We have something we need to talk to you about." Baba swoops in to save me. "Will you come with us?" I nod, they are guests so nobody, not even Erika, can argue if I was to leave to help them. Ota smiles, grabs my hand and pulls me towards the elevator.

"Ugh, why does Alice get to go to the penthouse? She's not even that special." I hear Erika and I smile to myself. _Oh, if only you knew._


	3. Mad Hatter's Tea Party

_Where is my prescription?  
Doctor, Doctor, please listen  
My brain is scattered  
You can be Alice, I'll be the Mad Hatter_

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I hear the loud noise going on downstairs. I can tell they have come back so I make my way down, buttoning up my shirt as I go. The woman, Alice, stares up at me, confusion written on her face.

"Where's your guest?" Ota looks around, surprised to see me alone.

"Left." Is all I say, they don't need to know any more information about something that is none of their business.

"Already? Damn, I would have liked to have said hello." Baba tilts his head at me, he's always after a woman's heart more than valuable art, whether or not they be someone's seconds. The woman goes to open her mouth to say something but I cut her off, enjoying the look I get in response. It is going to be fun making her emotions change quickly.

"Let's start."

"Did something happen at the auctions?" Soryu look at me, arms folded. I shake my head.

"No, I have decided how I'm going to use this woman." I point my chin at her, her mouth hanging open.

"What?" I study her face, smiling at her response.

"You're going to be my girlfriend." Everyone looks shocked, especially her. She stands there, shaking her head. _Hmph, probably trying to figure out my plan._

"Are you serious?" Soryu sounds like he's questioning my sanity.

"Yes, I am."

"I knew you had a thing for Alice, Boss." Baba laughs. _As if my interests for her was anything but beneficial to my plan._

"I hope you don't have an ulterior motive." Ota smiles at me. He knows I would never do anything without a reason.

"Of course he does, it's Eisuke we are talking about." Mamoru lazily responds to the conversation. He is the laziest person I have ever met but he comes through when needed.

"Hang on a second?!" Alice look at all of us, unaware of what trouble she's going to be in but this should be fun while it lasts.

"What is it? You're my woman, you can speak freely." I answer casually, she looks shocked by this and I smile to myself. She ponders what to say before starting. "Do I get a choice in this at all? Like, come on, I just met you yesterday. You JUST had a woman in here." _What does that have to do with anything?_

"What about her? I just entertained her. Do you not want to be my girlfriend?" This is starting to annoy me. I have seen the way her body reacts when I look at her, any other woman would be jumping at this opportunity, why the hell is she hesitating?

"I guess I don't have a choice by the fact that I HAVE to do what you say." _Maybe she does understand._ "But I don't have to like it." A stubborn look covers her features, if she was really my girlfriend she would never say that. "So what do I have to do _babe_? Shall I quit my job and live off my _sugarplum._ " I hear Baba and Ota snicker and shoot them a look. I think for a second, she does have a job here and an apartment, I don't want her to leave everything just to end up with nothing, not that I care but that could cause problems. I know I need to make things convincing if the plan is to work. I take my cell phone out and call the manager.

"It's me, come to the penthouse at once." The look of surprise on Alice's face amuses me when Mrs. Kenzaki walks in. "For the time being...What was your name again?" I knew it, I never forget anything but the pissed off look on her face was too good to pass up.

"Alice Wallace." She hisses at me.

"Yes, Alice will be staying here for a while. She will be excused from work occasionally when I call, but is to work just as hard when she's on shift."

"Of course, sir." Mrs. Kenzaki knows that even though I will make Alice work hard in my own way, I will not allow anyone to slack off on the clock.

"Also prepare the boutique downstairs as I will be taking her shopping."

"It will be ready in five minutes." She is very reliable, bowing as she takes her leave.

* * *

 **ALICE**

"What the hell? Is she in on this too? Mrs. Kenzaki didn't even bat an eye at this craziness." I stare in disbelief. I was afraid that something bad would happen if I told her about the auctions but she already knew!

"You didn't tell her, Eisuke?" Soryu looks over at Mr. Ichinomiya who just shrugs.

"There was no need." He seems oblivious to my freak out, instead he just sighs. "I own Tres Spades." I smack myself in the forehead.

"You're my bloody boss?" He gazes intently at me, guess he doesn't like being sworn at after all.

"I guess he is, in more ways than one." Baba just laughs.

"It's not nice to lie, Eisuke." Even the lazy ass detective seems amused by this.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Everyone shrugs.

"If you knew, would you act differently?" Ota tilts his head in question.

"I still think the woman would have a foul mouth regardless of what she knew." I throw a glare over at Soryu. _Shut up you hunk of a man, mafia or not, I'd still take you._

"Alice, come with me. We need to get ready for the I.V.C." I blink in confusion, what does he mean by we?

"Have fun at the ball, Cinderella." Baba bows as I get dragged past. They seem to enjoy this all too much, seriously screwed in the head people. Mr. Ichinomiya grabs his jacket from the back of a chair and we enter the elevator.

"Byeeeeeee." Ota and Baba are waving at us. It is a very awkward journey to the boutique, Mr. Ichinomiya walks with his hands in his pockets and all I do is try to sing songs in my head to calm my racing heart. When we enter, the shops are completely empty and all the employees are over the top, greeting and bowing to Mr. Ichinomiya.

"I want to see the dresses first." The manager of the store takes us to Chanol, a place I had never shopped in before; I'm not sure how to feel, a little bit excited but also really nervous. The songs in my head blast along with my heart beat. "I want to see the dresses from here...to here." When a salesgirl brings them onto a rack, he starts to pick out a few dresses and hands them to me. "Try these on, in order."

"My wages are not going to cover even one of these dresses." I mumble to myself as I make my way to the fitting room, I know that Mr. Ichinomiya would pay for it, he's not someone who would let me buy my own things even if this relationship seems like a sham. Mr. Ichinomiya looks bored as he sits in a chair in front of the fitting room but he does wait. The first dress is a golden-champagne coloured evening gown, I look in the mirror before showing him; screwing my face up because the gown isn't my style.

"Not sexy enough. Next." _Well, that's a bit rude._ The next dress is a deep red mini dress. "That makes you look trashy." The fun of this charade is starting to wear off. The insults don't stop there, the next ten dresses don't seem to please him either. "Colour doesn't look good on you." "Makes you look fat." When I try on one of the last dresses, I take a little bit longer to calm myself down before something harsh comes out of my mouth. The first reaction he has is small, a slight eyebrow raise. "Not bad." I finally breath, I hate shopping and this little evening has exhausted me for it any time soon. I check the dress out, it's a black bustier top dress and it looks like Mr. Ichinomiya likes his girls in black, much his sense of humour. "Next store." I grown inwardly, more shopping.

"I'm not really a shopper." He looks down at me.

"You are not standing with me looking shabby." He says simply.

"Go big or go home I guess?" I see a slight smile play on his lips. We reach the jewelry store, there are so many diamonds, emeralds and sapphires that I almost faint at the prices.

"I want an emerald." At his request, a large emerald ring surrounded by diamonds with a complementing necklace is brought to him. He takes my right hand and places the ring on my ring finger and necklace around my neck.

"Shit, that's a lot of gems." He steps back and looks me over.

"You actually look passable." My eye begins to twitch but instead of reacting, which I felt was what he wanted, I shrug.

"Never been a girl who really cared about this stuff anyway."

"Good, all you have to do is be quiet and attend by my side and I will make sure you get more attention than any other woman there. Nobody would want to hear the words that come out of your mouth anyway." He hides his intentions pretty well but I can see a twinkle in his eyes, hinting that he's poking for a fight.

"Quiet is good. Why try make conversation with you anyway?" A satisfied smile is all I'm given as we walk towards the rest of the shops.

"You will get shoes, a purse, your make up and hair done. The worse something looks to begin with, the more fun it is to dress up." I poke my tongue at him which causes a frown and it was my turn to smile. He is such an asshole even when he is on your side but he wasn't wrong on his choices; before we leave the salon I glimpse in a mirror and am shocked with how I look, I don't recognise myself, even Mr. Ichinomiya looks impressed. _Yeah, suck on this. Look all you want because girlfriend or not, you are not getting shit._ We make our way towards the party and I try to look the part, acting as snob nosed as Mr. Ichinomiya is. The party is more livelier than yesterday and as I look around a crowd of women come and surround Mr. Ichinomiya, pushing me away. _Not on my watch, bitches._ I push my way through the crowd and hold onto his arm, glaring at them. Some even back away.

"He's mine ladies, you would do well to leave. Now." I let all the anger enter my voice as I possessively cling to his arm.

"Eisuke!" The women call for him but all he does is turn his head away.

"Leave. I have a date." We make our way through the crowd, leaving all the women stunned but instead of mingling with the high rollers we go towards the back of the room. "No party tonight." He must see the confused look on my face. Mr. Ichinomiya stops in front of a bartender standing by a door. "Rabbit."

"What would you like, Mr. Ichinomiya?"

"Bol's Rhapsody." The bartender bows as he opens the door.

"Welcome to the Mad Hatter's Tea Party." I snort at the irony. _"Yes that's it."Said the Hatter with a sigh "It's always tea time."_ I remember a quote from Alice in Wonderland as I am led into a room filled with mirrors.

"Where are we?" I can't seem to figure out what's going on.

"This is called the Hall of Mirrors." Mr. Ichinomiya pushes on a pane and reveals an elevator. "We are going down the Rabbit's Hole." He smiles as we enter, heading down to the basement.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

As we enter the elevator, I look over at Alice. Her sandy blonde hair is plaited in a bun with a few tresses of hair outlining her face. Her neck long and elegant, with the necklace I picked sitting in the hollow of her prominent clavicle. The dress hugs her curves and her legs were made for heels. She's a few shades darker than any of the Japanese women who surround me but she will definitely stand out tonight. _How it should be._ She fidgets with the purse she's holding and is slowly moving her head as if keeping up with a tempo. _What a strange woman._ As the elevator dings, I walk out in front of her and we reach the booth in time for the main event.

"We reach the main attraction for tonight's auction." I hear a faint oh come from her lips and I smile to myself, she has finally clicked on to where we are. "A certificate of Allons citizenship."

"We are at the black market auctions." The cloud surrounding her narrow vision must have lifted as she blinks at everyone who is seated around us, apart from the Detective. "Wait. What am I doing here?" I sigh in frustration.

"You ask too many questions, how about you think for yourself for once." Alice's nose crinkles.

"Well, _sorry_. You like giving orders and controlling everything that happens that I thought..." Realisation crosses her face. "You want to teach me about them. You have got to be mad." I raise my eyebrow at her, maybe she's not so stupid after all.

"Well done, now stop asking questions that you can figure out yourself." I look her in the eyes, Alice squirms a little under my gaze. It's the reaction I enjoy the most so far.

"Hard to believe that you were up there just yesterday." Ota smiles at Alice, her eyes widening.

"The way you were trembling up there was very adorable." Baba looks her up and down and a pointed heel goes in his direction.

"Well, considering I was forced to wear a ridiculous night gown and it was metal, you would tremble a little too." Her voice was hushed and cold which just causes Baba to wink at her. I glare at him and he sits back, I'm sick of them trying to claim her.

"If you are going to be my woman, you will be coming here more often, you need to learns the basics. Only ones allowed are ones who are personally invited by one of us or approved by the referral of a current member." She nods in response.

"It's $100,000 for a three day pass." Ota points a finger up in the air and Alice's face goes white when she hears the price. It's very amusing watching her emotions whirl around, especially when they are unwilling ones.

"All the items up for sale are worth millions, so you would need to have money to be able to buy anything." Baba points out.

"Who else knows?"

"Just Mrs. Kenzaki. All the workers here are from the mafia community." Alice looks over at Soryu, who just stands against the wall with his arms crossed and the admiration in her eyes annoys me.

"The masks like the one you seen yesterday are to conceal the identities of the participants." As Baba continues to rattle off the rest of the basics, I become bored and pay attention to the auction.

"What's after Allons." Soryu looks at the list in his hands.

"Ten donors."

"That's always up for sale. Booooooring." Ota's right, donors are a frequent item up for sale but there is never a short supply of the older generation to bid.

"Organ donors?" She peers more closely to the scene unfolding, her face is unreadable as her expressions darken and I find that hard to gauge her reaction. "No fucken way." I roll my eyes, I should have realised at some point she would swear, it seems unavoidable for her. When the auction finishes, she is finally quiet and we make our way through the lobby where a large number of people are gathering; it always amuses me at how oblivious people are to the real reason why we hold the I.V.C, thanks to Soryu and Kishi, they go off without a hitch. A slight weight on my left arm brings my attention back to what is happening; I look down and see that Alice is holding onto me and her steps are more forced. A woman like her would not be used to heels for extended periods of time and to make the charade more believable, I help her as we are soon surrounded by people.

"Nice to see you again, Mr. Ichinomiya." I smile and shake his hand, bowing my head slightly.

"It's good to see you again too, Mr. Saionji." Alice looks up at me and I make a mental note for the future to point out who the important people are. "Yuki Saionji is the grandson of the founder of Yotsuyoshi Heavy Industries.

"I don't think I've had the pleasure." He wants to meet Alice.

"Pardon me, please, this is my girlfriend." As soon as the words leave my mouth a commotion begins around us. It was to be expected. Two staff members in particular seem to be even more shocked at the sentence than anyone else and by the grip tightening on my arm, I realise it's because Alice knows them.

"Oh? I don't think I have ever met any of your girlfriends." I put on my best smile.

"I am honoured to introduce her. Say hello." She recovers quickly from the commotion around us and even manages to hide the surprise as she sees my smile. I know that she wouldn't believe that I could smile without any coldness as I have never given her any reason to think so. I narrow my eyes slightly as I smile at her because she is taking too long to respond.

"Hello." She bows. "My name is Alice Wallace." Her head tilts slightly and her smile is bright, causing Mr. Saionji to smile at her in return. I wrap an arm around her waist and instead of startling at my touch, she leans into me. _Good acting. Maybe not as troublesome as I first thought._

"Let's go." Alice notices all the eyes on her as we walk towards the elevator, my hand still on the small of her back. I can see it makes her uncomfortable but she doesn't break character. Once we reach the penthouse, she walks faster than me and flops down on a sofa.

"Oh my God, that was so bloody exhausting!" She effortlessly kicks the heels off and flexes her feet. "I cannot feel my toes." I roll my eyes and sit down on the chair next to her, reaching inside my jacket pocket.

"This is the key card for the penthouse elevator and a pager. When I page you, you have five minutes to get here and don't lose the key card as the elevator will not work without it."

"And if I'm late?" Alice raises an eyebrow.

"I will forgive you as long as you have an adequate reason, otherwise I will sell you at the next auction."

"Ugh." She throws herself back onto the sofa but I could see her shiver. "So pretty much, I am confined to the hotel and can't leave?"

"You will live here for now and it will be easier for you to fulfill your duties as my girlfriend." I stand up and walk towards the stairs.

"Oi! Don't just walk off." I pause to allow her to speak. "Why did you tell everyone? And exactly what duties do you expect me to fulfill."

"What did I say about thinking for yourself?" I say without turning around.

"We are not even dating!" I look at my watch.

"It's late." I walk away, ignoring Alice calling out to me.


	4. Face to Face with a Mobster

**Hopefully everyone is enjoying it so far. Please Read Review so I know I'm doing well or needing to change anything. Also I do not own any of the characters apart from the personality change of the MC**

* * *

 _Even angels have their wicked schemes  
Then you take that to new extremes  
But you'll always be my hero  
Even though you've lost your mind_

* * *

 **ALICE**

I wake up with a kink in my neck and realise that I was so exhausted last night that I fell asleep on the couch, someone had put a blanket over me at some point; I shiver at the thought of what they saw. I check my phone and see I'm due to go to work so I hurry upstairs to get changed and head to the locker room. I notice that the commotion from last night has already become hotel gossip because the moment I enter the locker room, everyone rushes towards me.

"Uh Alice, mind telling us what the hell happened yesterday?" Kaya is both expectant and pissed off.

"Yeah, why were you at the I.V.C with Mr. Ichinomiya?" Lexi stands next to Kaya, mimicing her expression.

"Ha, there must be some mistake. There is no way that she is Mr. Ichinomiya's girlfriend."

"Shut up, Erika!" They say at the same time, no matter how angry they are with me, they always have my back. She backs off a little bit. "Then how did a _normal_ girl like you end up with Mr. Ichinomiya?"

"Yeah, how?" Her parrots stand behind her. I can't tell them the real reason why but everyone seems to be wanting an answer. I have to say something he would say.

"It was love at first sight, you know. When he caught me in his arms, we both just knew." I shrug my shoulders and smile, looking my best to be love struck.

"You are such a liar." _Gosh, she's like a bloody bloodhound._ "What is the real reason?" But before she can pry even more Lexi pushes her out the door.

"Come on, Negative Nancy. We have work to do, early check ins and all." I sigh at the quick save. Everyone looks at me as they pass by and I silently curse Mr. Ichinomiya for causing a scene. I quickly change and rush to start cleaning the guest rooms. The girl I always clean with is very kind and shy so she keeps her head down as we work. I am very grateful on this day to have her as my partner because she doesn't ask questions, or talk at all for that fact.

"Hey, Chisato. Why haven't you asked me about all the gossip?" She looks at me and smiles.

"You seem shy about the whole thing." I look amazed at her response and she continues to smile. "Can you please pass me the flowers?" The tone of her response is very refreshing, she is a little bit older than I am so I guess gossip isn't what she cares about. I jump at a sudden knock on the door.

"Hello, Mr. Kuroba." We both say at the same time, bowing.

"The room looks great but can you please get the baby set as the couple staying here are bringing an infant and make sure that there are no dangerous objects lying around." He smiles at us. "Also leave some brochures about our baby-sitting facilities and family based activities." We all do a final check of the room and then Takashiro turns to me. "You are the talk of the hotel today, Alice." My face goes red. _Not you too. Does everyone bloody know?_

"Yeah, it kind of wasn't my choice." Instead of bombarding me with questions, he just smiles at me.

"That dress looked good on you." I feel a blush reaching my ears.

"Thank you." I smile in return and bow. He is very easy on the eyes but I try not to betray my friends. His features are softer than Mr. Ichinomiya and he's definitely nicer, not an entitled prick. His smile is always warm no matter who he is talking to and Lexi says that he is very generous with his food if you forget lunch. As I compare Takashiro Kuroba to Eisuke Ichinomiya, I feel something vibrate in my pocket. _Shit, the pager. Five minutes to fucken run to his highness._ "I'm so sorry, I just realised I forgot something." I leave the room without anything more, leaving both of them confused and run like my life depended on it. _Which in a way, it does._ I make it with a minute to spare. "What... the hell...ya want?" I double over, holding my ribs. I feel like I'm dying slowly.

"Poor girl, look at her panting." Baba hids a smile behind his hand. "You could at least give her ten minutes."

"Oh, she's so cute. Like a puppy who's trying to catch a frisbee." Ugh, please stop with the dog comparison.

"You're late." Mr. Ichinomiya sits on a chair, with his legs crossed.

"Ah, no I'm not." I say once I regain my breath.

"She's getting brave, Eisuke." Soryu smiles slightly. Mr. Ichinomiya glances at him and chuckles.

"Yes, I still need to train her." His response makes my eye twitch. More dog jokes.

"What's that meant to mean?!" He ignores me and points to a dress hanging on a hook with matching accessories.

"Get dressed, we are going to the I.V.C again tonight." I walk over to the items and give them a look over. They seem to match his own attire of black and lavender.

"Are we attending a party or an auction?" He just smiles at me and watches as I tilt my head at the shoes, they have a lower heel than the ones last night; it's almost a kind gesture.

"Make sure you don't walk like a duck by my side." The warm feeling is gone instantly, still a jackass but at least he did notice that my feet hurt.

"Good, at least you are not blind." He glares coldly. "But thank you." He turns his head away.

"I'm just making sure you don't make a fool of me." _Yeah, yeah we all know that the only person you care for is you._ "There's an important guest coming tonight. I'm going to introduce you to him so don't gawk."

"You have something up your sleeve, don't you?" Soryu gives a sly smile.

"Maybe." Mr. Ichinomiya has a cocky but evil smile on his face. He turns to me. "Get dressed, you have ten minutes. We will be leaving in twelve."

"So are you going to let me do my own hair and make up?" I laugh at him because I already know the answer before he says it.

"No, you will get it done at the salon on the way." I wave my hand at him and take the dress, heading up the stairs. The time limits are really getting annoying as it just shows how controlling he is but in ten minutes exactly I walk down the stairs. I brushed my hair and left it down, letting it hang on one side, and it got the exact reaction I was hoping for; Baba looks at me with his mouth open, Ota wolf whistles, Kishi says ' _she doesn't look like a kid now_ ' and I even get a smile from the dark, brooding mobster but as usual Mr. No Emotions doesn't react, he just stands up and heads for the elevator.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

When we enter the party, the usual crowd is here; all celebrities or men of power and all here for one reason or another. We walk around with smiles on our faces and I introduce her to everyone we meet, she follows my lead; bowing and smiling. _She may not need as much training as I thought._

"I will have to invite you to the next party I hold." Another invitation.

"Of course." I smile and shake hands again.

"It will be our pleasure." Alice smiles sweetly. I slip my arm around her waist and we walk around casually, every now and again I can see her emotions on her face; she's still dazzled by my smile and demeanor and I find it slightly annoying, but not as much as I normally would. I have never been kind towards her for her to be used to it. After we meet a few more people, Alice starts fidgeting, rubbing her neck and looking around a lot. _What have I told her about this?_ I follow her gaze and it turns out a group of woman are glaring at her but instead of dropping her head and acting shy, she waves. A small amount of affection rises up for her then I remember she is merely part of the plan. I notice a man glaring at her at a table by the bar but once she notices him, his glare turns to a smile.

"Stop looking around like that. I've already told you how to behave." I coldly chastise her as we stand by the champagne.

"Sorry but not all of us are used to being stared at like a circus freak. I'm going to use the ladies, is that alright?" Alice's question is rhetorical as she turns and makes her way to the bathroom. I may have underestimated her, which is unusual for me but she seemed more shy when I saw her on stage and while she worked; my initial thoughts of her slowly change as I realise she is very useful as long as she plays the part. I notice the woman I entertained the other night is blocking Alice's path after she exits the bathroom so I head towards her.

"How did _you_ manage to sink your claws into Eisuke?" I hear as I get closer. "How much did you pay him?"

"What's it to ya? You're just jealous because he dumped you like yesterday's garbage." My lips tug up at her reply.

"You are nothing but a cheap whore." She raises a hand against Alice but before she can land it, I grab her wrist.

"You were nothing but a one night stand, you can't pretend you have a claim on me. I don't want to see your face ever again." I say coldly, turning my nose up at her. She starts to yell at me but I hear nothing of it as I grab Alice and lead us away.

"Wow, that was icy."

"She annoys me, even her name annoys me." I look down at her, her own words weren't kind but she acts as if mine were worse. "She called you a whore, she deserved it."

"Meh, I've been called worse. I could of taken her." I chuckle at her brave face and I shake my head to remind myself that I am not to let my emotions get the better of me, I need to remain focused.

"This is who I want to introduce you too." We make our way towards an older gentleman and Alice looks excited and links her arm in mine. "Nice to see you again, Mr. Bucci."

"Eisuke. How long has it been? You look well."

"I knew you were coming so I made sure to look my best." I smile.

"I see." We share a laugh. "The day that an ambitious man like yourself loses heart is the day that the Japanese economy collapses." He claps a hand on my shoulder.

"Rest assured, the matter we discussed will be safe in my hands." I turn the conversation towards the business at hand.

"I will think about it. The option I chose will be the one to bring me the most profits."

"You will experience no loses with me." I continue to smile, making sure my annoyance with this isn't showing. He soon notices Alice.

"Is this lady friend a piece of arm candy?" I feel her nails dig into my arm.

"No, this is my girlfriend." Alice bows and introduces herself.

"Alice Wallace, pleased to meet you." Her smile does best to hide her own annoyance.

"Girlfriend? Oh, my daughter will be very disappointed to hear that." _I know, that's the plan._

"Yes, I thought it was about time I settled down."

"You will still show her around when she arrives in Japan though, won't you."

"Of course, I will take her wherever she wants to go." I notice that Alice is silently watching the exchange, her face unreadable and I realise I don't like that very much. I am sure she has realised my plan but her face doesn't betray her feelings.

"I am sure my daughter will be happy as long as she enjoys her time here, meanwhile I am going to go enjoy my time downstairs."

"Let me know if there is anything else I can do for you." We shake hands but before he leaves, he turns to Alice.

"I'm sure you have your hands full with him." Alice tilts her head and smiles brightly.

"Oh, he's not that bad. He's such a gentleman." She hugs my arm and Mr. Bucci just nods as he walks away.

* * *

 **ALICE**

We don't go to the auction tonight, instead we head back to the penthouse in silence and Mr. Ichinomiya drops onto the upstairs sofa with an uncharacteristic sigh.

"Water." He still has enough energy to be demanding though, I walk over to the mini fridge and pour both him and myself a glass.

"I figured out your plan." I say as I hand him a glass. "Mr. Bucci has a daughter, you want to make a business deal without having to get involved with the daughter. The best way to do that is to have a girlfriend that everyone knows about." He smiles coolly at me as I take a sip of water.

"Hm, I guess you can use that head of yours." I nearly spit my mouthful out. "Mr. Bucci is part of the Italian mob and his daughter, Carolina, is in love with me. It wouldn't do me well to turn down a mobster's daughter."

"No, instead you just lie to them." I say sarcastically. "But why me? Not one of the many vultures who would kill to be your girlfriend?"

"It is easier to deal with someone who has no feelings, makes them expendable." He relaxes and places his hand on his cheek, resting his elbow on the armrest, a cruel smile playing on his lips. My heart flutters a little and I refuse to admit I find it a little sexy. "You are my wild card and let me tell you, you definitely are. If you play your part well, I will let you go."

"Shit, you don't need to tell me twice. I know plenty of ways to make it look _real_ believable." I put my glass on the table and sit on his lap, I wrap my arms around his neck and look him in the eyes. "We need to make them believe that we really are dating." I whisper softly as I lean closer, our lips almost touching.

"You can play it quite well, almost like you've done this before." He smiles coldly and I do my best to match it.

"And you almost looked human tonight. Looks like we both know how to fool others." I lean back.

"I thought I was going to have a tough road ahead with you but now I see it's not going to be as bad. I may not be completely wasting my time making you mine." His smile is very slight, almost kind. He gently pushes me off him and heads downstairs, leaving me alone for the first time in a while.

"This should be interesting." The thought of freedom makes me excited, it gives me hope that dealing with his pigheadedness won't be in vain. _Years of pretending will finally come in handy._


	5. Day Off?

_Run, run, runaway baby  
Before I put my spell on you  
You better, get, get, get away, get away darling  
Everything you heard is true_

* * *

 **ALICE**

Tres Spades most famous event, the I.V.C, has come to a close and from the happy faces of guests who are leaving, it was a success. Things go back to how they were five days ago for mostly everyone and start to deal with the wind down but for me I'm still stuck in the world of Eisuke Ichinomiya. I make my way towards the guest rooms when Erika blocks my path.

"Alice, you know the group that are going to be on the 9th and 10th floor? They will be arriving earlier than expected and the beds need to be made. I was wondering if you could do them?" She looks at the clipboard in her hand while talking to me.

"Yeah, sure. What time are they arriving?" I shrug.

"At 1 p.m; you need to make sure all the beds are made in time." She smiles at me, her eyes twinkling.

"Wait, do two floors worth of beds within an hour by myself?" I cannot believe she expects me to do that.

"Ugh, everyone else has to clean up after the I.V.C, just because you are Mr. Ichinomiya's girlfriend doesn't mean you get special treatment. If anything, you are expected to work harder than anyone to prove you are not a..." She pauses and smiles at me. She doesn't need to finish the sentence because I know exactly where she was going. "Well, you better hurry." She pushes the clipboard into my hands and walks off with a skip in her step.

"You fucken up tight bitch." I mutter to myself as I head to the elevator, I know for a fact it's because she is jealous, I've seen the blush on her cheeks when she hears something about him and now all she hears about is him and I. I start on the beds with a smile on my face, that could be fun to play with. Just before the clock strikes 1 p.m, I finish the last of the beds so I decide that it's time to take my lunch break, I enter the cafeteria and see I'm the only one here. "Got two floors done, might be a bit late for lunch but oh well." I take out my phone, headphones and lunch, unwrapping my sandwich while flicking through songs; I don't realise how hungry I was until I demolish half a sandwich in two bites. _Hehe, record, old man would be proud of his country girl._ A tap on my shoulder brings me to reality.

"Are you just having lunch now?" Takahiro Kuroba smiles at me as I take the headphones out of my ears.

"Yeah, Erika made me make all the beds on the 9th and 10th floor within an hour due to a change in schedules." I try not to moan about it as one thing she said did ring true, I do need to work hard to show people I'm not slacking because I'm Mr. Ichinomiya's girlfriend.

"So you're having lunch all by yourself, Alice?" He looks surprised but I just shrug.

"Yeah, no biggy. I've cleaned an entire house faster though. The rooms were already cleaned beforehand otherwise it was going to be mission impossible." He pulls out the seat across from me.

"You must be exhausted." He lays out some rice balls. "Do you mind if I sit with you." I shake my head.

"No, it would be nice to have some company." He just smiles before a serious look crosses his face.

"Call me Takahiro." I laugh at how serious he is over a small gesture.

"Sure thing. It seems less awkward for me that's for sure." It is strange for me living in a country with different ways of doing things so this small ounce of normalcy for me is welcoming. Takahiro smiles.

"If there is anything you need, or even if you just want to talk, you can always come to me. For example: working too much?" I laugh his worry off.

"My mother and father are both hard workers, they taught me to always do my best and work hard. It's also a very nice distraction." It is nice of him to worry about the work load I take on, unlike someone who makes my job twice as hard.

"Here, have a treat." Takahiro passes me a small, clear candy that he gives to the guest's children.

"I do have a sweet tooth, thank you." The small gestures of kindness he provides are very refreshing but before I can say anything more, the pager rings. "I'm sorry, thank you so much for the company but the king awaits." I gather my things and head for the penthouse. Lexi is going to kill me if we keep having little moments like that, next time I will invite her to come along.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I tap my finger against the arm of the chair when Alice rushes in through the door, her face red and short of breath.

"I was having my break." She growls.

"This is more important. Go get changed into something nicer than your uniform out of your wardrobe, we are going to the casino downstairs." She looks at me confused. "There are some guests that are still here, Mr. Bucci for example and he needs convincing about our relationship so we need to show off." She nods as she walks upstairs, the glimmer of freedom is a strong thing for her. Alice does not like to be controlled and that is the only way I can keep her in line. Our expressions soften when we enter the casino, I can see she has her game face on. It does surprise me at how well she can put on the act, as if she's in control of her many changing emotions. "After you." I let her through first and she bows her head before entering. She chose a wine red slip dress, pearl necklace and earrings, and pearly white heels; she has better taste than I thought and that does please me. I place my hand around her waist and lead her towards the roulette wheel. "Have you ever played before? It will be easy for a beginner like yourself." She raises an eyebrow.

"I've never really been a gambler." _She never has been much of anything by the sounds of it._ "But I will give it a go for you." She pats my cheek softly. _She's getting brave._ Soryu's comment plays in my head.

"I'll teach you." I smile down at her. Some of the guests have already started watching the exchange so I give her a small kiss on the temple, her ears have a slight red tinge when I look at her. She has a very strong poker face but her body is always betraying her deepest emotions. The pulse in her neck quickens and I enjoy myself more than I anticipated. Listening around me, I can hear a few people whispering.

"Look at them, so in love."  
"I wish I had someone look at me like that."  
"She's very easy on the eyes, I can see why he chose her."

It is very easy to fool people into thinking we are an intimate couple but there's only one person I care about convincing.

"Bet on whatever you want." She pulls a face and thinks about it.

"25." I nod at the croupier and snuggle into her side, closing the distance between us.

"You place a bet on either numbers, red or black, odd or even, high or low. The croupier will spin the wheel and spin the ball on the tilted part of the wheel, in opposite directions. Once the ball loses momentum it will land in one of the pockets. Spread your bets and watch for patterns." I whisper in her ear and can feel her body betray her face once again so I push her once more. "You have a good memory so you should be just fine." I brush my lips against her cheek and hear a quick intake of breath.

"Look, I know we are meant to be acting but everyone's watching, Mr. Ichi-" I cut her off.

"Eisuke. Right, Alice?"

"Yes, that's what I meant." Our eyes meet and she swallows, shifting her gaze to the ball spinning around the wheel. That small action annoyed me. _Nothing should be more important than looking at me._

"You are such a show off, Eisuke." Antonio Bucci stands at the opposite end of the table. I just wink at him.

"Are you enjoying yourself, Mr. Bucci?" He shrugs.

"Somewhat. I am starting to get bored, will you show me around your hotel?" I fold my arms and smile at him, got to keep my own game face on.

"Of course, I was hoping to be able to show you around at some stage. We have the casino, pools, an art museum, theaters and bars; plenty to accommodate your needs." He gives a deep laugh.

"What about the company of a beautiful woman. You will be joining us, won't you, Alice?" She looks at us and smiles, her body and face working together again.

"I would love to. I know this hotel almost as well as Eisuke. I would be happy to show you around."

"I look forward to it." He has a kind look in his eyes when he looks at Alice. "Shall we start now?" She leaves my side to link arms with him, smiling the whole time. If she was intimidated by him, you would never tell. Despite the fact that he is mafia, she walks beside laughing and completely unfazed. I have noticed the way she looks at Soryu, the admiration in her eyes is almost an attraction and she doesn't flinch when he's around; there's something strange about her to be so at ease with a mafia boss.

* * *

 **ALICE**

We walk around for a little bit, I do my best to laugh at the right time and make sure I think of my answers carefully. It always surprised me at how Eisuke is so nice when he's in public, his expressions are softer and his tone is lighter; he becomes a completely different person when he wants to. Listening to their exchange and walking with them, I soon become mentally exhausted so when we say good night and head back to the penthouse, the lounge filled with all it's occupants is a relief to my senses.

"Welcome back, Boss." Baba smiles at us. I look around at all of them.

"Why are you all here? Did something happen?"

"We need to review the last auction." Ota says matter-of-factly. "We need to make sure everything was clean and there were no deals done under the table." I nod, knowing I have no idea what he's talking about.

"Did you have fun?" Soryu looks up from the couch.

"This woman is somewhat passable." _Are you fucken kidding me?_ Eisuke glares at me as he shrugs out of his jacket and sits on a chair.

"I did bloody better than you did!" I glare back at him, taking off the necklace and earrings out, placing them on the table before snatching his jacket and putting it on. As I angry as I am, it suddenly became chilly; either from his glare or the actual temperature.

"You clammed up when he asked you how we met." He retorts.

"Yeah, what was I meant to tell him. _Oh, it was the other day when I tripped over and he caught me._ " I put on the best mocking voice I had.

"I told him it was love at first sight." He looks away at disgust, as if the words were filth. "If you continue to hesitate, he's going to know we are lying and if that happens." He narrows his eyes at me and I pull a thumb across my throat as a dramatic way to finish his sentence.

"Don't keep threatening her, Boss. Look at her, she's shaking." Baba thinks I'm scared but I am shaking out of anger.

"How do you expect a kid to act in front of a mob boss?" Kishi interjects, blowing a cloud of smoke out his usual window.

"Ugh, seriously Mamoru. I am not a kid. I am not afraid of Soryu, he's about as scary as they come and I don't tremble around him." I point over at Soryu.

"What I say goes!" Eisuke looks like he's about to lose the plot.

"Having a normal girl pretend to be your girlfriend was your first mistake. You should have hired a prostitute." These guys putting me down is really starting to annoy me so I decide I have enough. I shrug off Eisuke's jacket and slowly walk over to Soryu, he doesn't flinch when I sit on his lap and place a hand on his chest.

"Baby, there is no-one on Earth that could compare to me." I wink at him, twirling his light blue tie around my hand and give him a kiss on the cheek. I know he keeps a gun in his breast pocket and I keep my heartbeat steady to keep them from seeing how scared I am for acting so bold. I feel a smile playing on his lips when I lean back and look around the room. "That proof enough." Eisuke is shooting daggers in my direction but everyone else is dumbfounded.

"Stop playing around, Alice. You need to remember not to slip up because if you do and anything happens, I will make sure you take full responsibility." I sigh, sliding off Soryu's lap onto the couch.

"Yeah, yeah. You'll throw me under the bus because I'm expendable, I get it. Jeez." I roll my eyes and Eisuke gives me a cruel smile which sends a shiver down my spine and I know everyone sees me shake.

"Will you go free or will you disappear off the face of the Earth? Who knows but I can't wait to find out." His smile grows deeper, his features truly becoming something of a sadistic murderer.

"You seem to be enjoying the negotiations." Soryu shakes his head with a small chuckle.

"I only do things that I enjoy." I burst out laughing at that sentence despite being truly afraid of my life. He enjoys playing games, enjoys making my emotions run wild and enjoys being a total asshole. Everyone looks at me as I double over from laughter, it's not even that funny but laughing uncontrollably is my automatic nervous response. Eisuke leaves some time between his comment and my laughing fit but once I wind down, he's no longer around. I wipe the tears out of my eyes and head upstairs, blushing at the stares following me. I resign to my room and put in headphones to drown out the noise in my head, I normally would go to a bar and blow off steam but I am stuck in this expensive prison until further notice.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I awake before the woman does. Alice. After the scene last night, I had to think about how to handle her as there is some concern I've caused her to go mad. There's a grunting noise from behind me and I look towards the direction of the noise. _What a mess._ Alice comes out looking a mess, her hair drawn back in a messy bun, yawning and stretching as she makes her way towards the bathroom. I shake my head as I sip on my coffee and look over the documents on my laptop; some time after I finish my coffee, I hear the shower turn off and Alice walks out drying her hair.

"You have the day off today." It wasn't a question, I know her roster.

"Mhmm." She nods as she pours herself a coffee, looking for the milk and sugar. "Where's the-?" I point on the coffee table in front of me."Thanks." She yawns again as she stirs and sits on the couch opposite to me. Having chosen a more obedient woman for this would have been easier but she does make this more fun, I like a challenge and despite the little mistakes, she does well with what she has been given. I can't blame her for being the reluctant participant. "Do I have to stay here today? It's a nice day and it would be a waste to watch it go by from my tower." _Did she honestly refer to herself as Rapunzel?_

"No, you can have some freedom today, you need a break if you are to perform at your best. I will give you thirty minutes to get back when I page you." Alice laughs, how she finds such trivial things amusing is beyond me, but I wonder if it is because she understands that she is completely under my thumb.

"Damn, you are actually going to wait? Holy crap, I can't believe it." _I would never wait for anyone unless I choose to, count yourself luck you get to leave my sight._ Her teasing does get under my skin but I play it cool.

"I will do what I have to because we both need this deal to succeed. When you come back, you better have a new attitude."

"Sure, whatever. Thanks _babe_." Alice waves, smiling to herself as she goes to leave.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I rush to finish my coffee and place the cup on the bench next to Eisuke's and realise it's probably the only thing we have in common, sweet coffee. It's a surprise as someone with his attitude seems to be more of a black coffee kinda man but I shake my head as I wait for the elevator to close. "I am outta here!" _No thinking of him today. I have to stay within thirty minutes of the hotel but at least I get to leave._ I make my way around town and find a little Hawaiian cafe, there is no line so I decide this would be the best place to eat.

"How can I help you today?" The young Japanese girl smiles at me.

"Pancakes please and a coffee." I pay and sit down in a booth. A familiar face goes to counter and spots me.

"Alice, what a coincidence." I wave at Takahiro as he comes to sit at the booth with me. "Are you here alone?"

"Yeah, how about you?" He nods. "Why not join me?" He smiles at my offer, I kick myself as Lexi's face flashes in front of my eyes. "I am going to see if my friend Lexi wants to join, if you don't mind?" His smile falters a little.

"Sure, that's fine. I'm doing research on this place, many people have said it's really good and I would like to suggest it to guests." I text Lexi and asks if she can meet me at the cafe. _On my way!_ She's always eager for a decent meal. _Will order for you._ "What did you order?"

"I got the pancakes and a coffee," I stand up. "Won't be long, just going to order for Lexi." I go to order and pay for her. "What did you get?" I say, as I sit back down.

"I got the pancakes also, I hear they are the specialty of the cafe." My stomach grumbles as he says that. "This your breakfast?" I smile shyly.

"I slept in today." We both laugh.

"Alice!"

"Lexi, hey. I ordered for you already." Just as she sits down, all three meals come out as well as our drinks. "Seriously, girl you live off caffeine." I stir sugar into my coffee and shrug.

"Gotta keep up the energy right?" She nudges me and laughs. We dig in and I enjoy the flavour of the caramel with the pancakes, I do miss the taste of home cooked meals.

"This is delicious!" Both Takahiro and Lexi nod.

"It is a tad sweet though." Lexi agrees with him.

"No problem for the sweet tooth over there though." They laugh as I ignore them, it's good to see them getting along, I see the faint red tinge on Lexi's cheeks and I smile to myself. We finish up and suddenly the pager goes off. _Great, at least I managed to finish._ I look at the time and realise I had been gone for an hour. _Short leash much._

"Hey, sorry but I have to go." I feebly excuse myself while Lexi throws me a death glare. "Don't worry about your breakfast, my shout. Enjoy." She will thank me later as Takahiro is the type of guy to go for a walk with her and three's a crowd. I rush towards the train station and manage to get back to the hotel in time. "Jeez, an hour, really?" Eisuke just looks bored.

"You just made it." He blatantly points out.

"Yeah, I was eating lunch with my friends." I place my hands on my hips, slightly annoyed at how I didn't get to enjoy much of my day off.

"Really, Eisuke. I'm sure you enjoy calling her." Ota tucks a lock of hair behind his ear, smiling at me.

"It's worth it, knowing how hard she tries to get here on time." He smiles coldly.

"Oh, watching her run around makes me want a dog again."

"Yeah, a dog. Which I am not." I point out and Ota pouts at me. "What do you want?"

"You are taking the day off tomorrow. Carolina will be here and you will be coming with me to show her around Tokyo." He folds his arms.

"That's it?" I stare at him in disbelief. "That's why you called me here? For something you could have fucken texted or emailed about?" I yell at him and he just gets a conceited look on his face.

"I wanted to tell you now, is there a problem with that?" He knows this is annoying me and he's enjoying it.

"Yeah, there is! God, you are such a dick. You need to consider my feelings as well." His smile fades and that cold glare of his replaces it.

"Did your day away give you amnesia?" He stands up and comes closer to me. "You belong to me." He growls at me and even though I am really annoyed, he just got a little bit frightening so I back away and drop my head.

"Yes, I know." In the state he is in, it's probably safer to just agree with him.

"Soryu. You will be coming as well." I feel a bit better hearing that but Soryu doesn't seem impressed.

"Why?"

"She is the daughter of a mob boss, there would be no harm in meeting her." Soryu is being dragged along into whatever plan Eisuke has.

"Yeah, okay." Soryu isn't happy about it but he reluctantly agrees.

"Despite how you two act with each other, you are pretty close." Ota smiles at the exchange between them. They are pretty close if Eisuke can drag Soryu into almost anything without a fight. I sigh, accepting the fact that I'm also going to be stuck with Eisuke tomorrow. _Worse day off, ever._


	6. Playing the Part

_Well, there's a million other girls who do it just like you  
Looking as innocent as possible to get to who  
They want and what they like, it's easy if you do it right  
Well I refuse, I refuse, I refuse_

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I hear Alice taking a deep breath as we wait for Carolina to arrive at the Narita airport. She does silly little facials and jumps on her toes as if she's get ready to go out on stage but before I can chide her, a loud shrill comes towards us.

"Eisuke! Oh my, how I've missed you!" Alice's face immediately changes to the one I know as her game face as Carolina runs towards us.

"Hmph, that's her I assume?" She whispers, a slight twinkle in her eye, Alice is quite amused. I nod.

"Carolina can be quite an intense woman."

"No kidding." She snorts as Carolina runs towards me with her arms outstretched, high heels clacking on the pavement. This whole ordeal will give me a headache.

"Do your feet hurt, Alice?" She wears a questioning gaze but give a slight nod so I bend down to look at her feet, causing Carolina to hug the column I was leaning against.

"Argh, Eisuke!" Her high pitched voice calls my name, she's not happy about missing a hug but I know she will cheer up with me just being around her.

"Welcome to Japan, Carolina." I smile at her, a polite smile that I reserve for these specific occasions. I pretend not to notice her disappointment about me bending over, even though it was my plan to avoid it. Alice throws a look in my direction. _Playing it cool much?_ I can read it on her face.

"Oh, Eisuke. I just love how cold you are." Carolina touches my arm. "It's been so long since I seen you last." She continues to keep her hand on my bicep, giving it a slight squeeze; I can see Alice trying to hide a smile.

"Yes, it has been. You're looking well." I move slightly so her hand drops off my arm. I have no intention in allowing her to keep touching me, even if it is for this business deal to succeed. She claps her hands to her face.

"Oh yes, Fang and I are doing so well!" I look at her, surprised.

"Fang?" _Please don't let Fang be a pet._ Carolina just about jumps up and down in front of me.

"That's right. This is Fang, he's my darling Chihuahua." She grabs a bag carrying a small, rat looking dog from a man in a black suit behind her. I instinctively go to pat him, but instead he barks and takes a nip at my hand. I pull my hand away, upset.

"Don't bark at Eisuke, Fang!" Carolina pulls the bag against her chest, gently telling off the dog. "Bark at that bitch instead." She shoves the bag towards Alice, who steps forward, unfolding her arms.

"Aw, now that's no way to talk to a fellow dog lover." Alice scratches Fang behind the ears, he immediately changes to a happy dog. "Or are you just jealous that he likes me instead?" She laughs softly at her own question, the dog is over joyed at her gentle scratches. Who does she mean by that? Carolina glares at her, pulling Fang back and Alice glares back, with a smile plastered on her face, obviously getting the response she wanted. "He's very well trained, not many Chihuahuas are as relaxed as he is." Alice relents a little, knowing that she has to keep Carolina happy for either of us to get what we want. I look away from them.

"This is Soryu Oh, an associate of mine. Currently second in charge of the Ice Dragons." I say, Soryu just nods.

"I'm Alice Wallace." Alice extends her hand to Carolina, who ignores her.

"Oh, are you a friend of Eisuke's? It's a pleasure to meet you." She winks at Soryu, who looks away from her. I smile to myself, Soryu hates women and Carolina is the type he hates the most. Alice looks at me, feeling dejected by being ignored so I put an arm over her shoulder and start walking.

"Let's go to the car." I lead Alice away, who is still moping.

"Wait for me!" Carolina chases us with Soryu behind her, I can almost hear him muttering to himself. Once we get inside the limo, I instruct the driver to head to the hotel, Carolina needs to get rid of all the baggage she brought with her as well as the dog. Despite the rush of emotions from earlier, Alice relaxes into the seat and she continues to pat Fang, much to Carolina's dissatisfaction. Carolina wanted to sit next to me and talk but her dog kept growling so in order for that, the dog had to go away so Soryu begrudingly took it. Alice quietly teases Soryu over the dog wanting to be close to him, despite him not wanting to be near it. I feel strange watching them bond over the dog.

"Fang never warms up to people so quickly." Carolina stops talking about the flight to glare at Alice and cut her off from Soryu as well. "He has a great taste in men like me."

"Lucky Fang is fond of you, Soryu." I tease him, feeling amused with myself.

"I don't like dogs." Alice laughs at him.

"Sure, that's why your eyes are crinkled." _Soryu does look like he is smiling at the dog_. Alice goes to pat Fang again but Carolina pulls him away.

"Only reason he likes you is because you must smell like a bitch on heat!" Alice's good mood disappears just like that.

* * *

 **ALICE**

That large, voluptuous woman with her high pitch voice is really starting to get on my nerves. Everything from her blonde curly hair to her cankles make me want to break character and punch her right in her fat Italian nose, mob daughter or not.

"I can't believe you have a girlfriend, when you could of had a chance with me. Oh, Eisuke! You are just so mean." Carolina places a hand on her face in fake shock. I glare at her, trying to set her hair on fire with my anger.

"He will do everything he can to get what he wants, except date her." Soryu whispers in my ear. I smile at him, he is a very kind man despite his normal attitude. He comes off super serious and doesn't talk much but today he's being kind to me. I stay silent while I watch the exchange between Eisuke and Carolina.

"I'm sorry." Eisuke doesn't look sorry at all.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." She glares in my direction. "That stupid bitch tricked you." I groan and roll my eyes, every second with her is hard to keep up appearances but as long as I pretend to be his girlfriend then I guess I can still be myself.

"My God, get over yourself. Eisuke is the one who wanted me." She is slightly taken aback by my outburst and her eyes go cold.

"Yeah, right. He was probably just being polite and you are the one who got the wrong idea." I feel my blood boil and go to snap back when I see both Eisuke and Soryu shaking their heads at me.

"Let me explain." Eisuke smiles at me, that fake meaningless smile that he puts on for everyone. "I saw Alice working hard at the hotel and she's right, I did fall for her first. Right?" He puts an arm around my shoulder, pulls me closer and gives me a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, he's very demanding." I place a hand on his chest and smile. "When Eisuke Ichinomiya wants something, it is very hard to resist." I cuddle into his side while Carolina's mouth twists.

"Then why does she make googly eyes at Soryu?" _Shit, how can you not though._

"He's the closest thing I have to a brother over here, he's very protective and he's Eisuke's friend. Am I meant to just ignore him?" Eisuke's arm goes tight for a split second and Carolina's eyes go narrower. If she keeps glaring at me like that, her eyes are going to stay like that, permanently.

"Ugh. What's so great about that little brat anyway?" Carolina pouts. Eisuke thinks for a minute.

"She is very serious about her job and gives everything her all. She's very proud of what she does, it makes me want to protect." He links his fingers with mine and gives me a tender gaze, I smile back him. If this whole thing was real, he just paid me a massive compliment but whether it's real or not, he is very observant.

"I'm pretty weak, too." Carolina puts her hands on her cheeks. "I just don't look it. I need someone to protect me." Her high pitch shrill makes my ears ring every time she opens her mouth.

"I do want you to enjoy your time here, I will do whatever I can to make that happen." Eisuke doesn't look at her, he stares out the window which elects a high pitch giggle from her.

"You are so sweet, Eisuke. I will have to make you fall in love with me, I won't give up until that happens!" The determination in her eyes is almost commendable if she wasn't a pain in the ass. Soryu chuckles.

"You're very popular, Eisuke." Eisuke glares at him.

"Shut up." He growls while the car slows down and we park at the entrance to the hotel. Carolina's men followed us in a black car and we wait in the limo while they collect her luggage and Fang to drop off at her hotel room. When all that was finished, we head to the boutiques in Ginza which Carolina wanted to visit and even walking around the stores, she does not relent from her hounding of Eisuke.

"What dress would look better on me? The dark red dress or the black lace?" She switches between the two in front of a mirror and I stand away from her and Eisuke with Soryu.

"Black is more slimming so wouldn't that be the better choice?" I smirk as I peer up at Soryu, both of the men look stoic but neither of them have a choice. Soryu has his signature look: arms folded, expressionless face and Eisuke just looks bored.

"If you like the black then I will get the black." She shrieks happily and Eisuke steals a glance in my direction, I shrug at him. Despite him always dragging me to shops, he may finally appreciate the fact that I hate shopping. Carolina and I are the complete opposites and I can't help but think that even though I am not his type, neither is she. She's so needy for attention, overly clingy, always asks for his opinion even when his responses are harsh and cold. He grabs a dress and shoves it towards me.

"Try this blue lace dress on." I blink at him and look at it, the blue is a few shades darker than my eyes and for some strange reason, I instantly like it.

"It's very nice but what would I wear it with?" He has a kind smile on his face and I feel myself returning it. There's a strange feeling swirling in my stomach and I feel a little uncomfortable all of a sudden.

"Wear it with those silver heels I bought you. I want to see you in it." We stare at each other for a few seconds when Carolina gags, pointing to her mouth.

"Ugh, I can see the pink love hearts surrounding you two. I'm not going to give up Eisuke, I will make you fall for me in this black dress!" She storms off towards the fitting room and I see that Eisuke is a little intimidated by how she comes across when she flares up like that, I find myself feeling for him; he almost seems human looking like that. I'm shaken from my thoughts when he suddenly takes my hand.

"Try this platinum ring on." I give him a quizzical look, raising my eyebrow slightly.

"I do like silver more." I say nonchalantly.

"You have very neat hands from your job. A simple design with no jewels looks better on you." He smiles to himself, admiring my hands and I realise the smile is different from all of the smiles I've seen on him, he looks almost pleased as he slides the ring onto my right ring finger. "I was right. I'll take this one." The employee nods and I realise that this is the first thing he has bought me not because he has to or to show off in front of someone but because he wanted to, it both surprises me and warms my heart. I watch as he smiles proudly while he admires the ring on my slender finger. "I like it. Keep it on and never take it of."

"What do you think?" Our small moment is ruined by Carolina barreling out of the fitting room.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I admire the ring on Alice's finger and I am surprised with myself for actually buying it with no other intention other than I thought it would look good on her.

"What do you think?" Carolina comes out, loud and interrupting and I don't look away from the ring or Alice.

"It's not bad." I reply, I wish I didn't have to deal with this nonsense and normally I wouldn't put up with it but if I want this deal to go through, I have to keep Carolina happy.

"Come here and pick another one." She squeals enthusiastically, grabbing my arm and I sigh, letting go of Alice's hand.

"Tch, whatever." I allow myself to be dragged away, constantly reminding myself that this is to keep her happy. Carolina goes through a rack of dresses, pursing her lips at each one.

"Hm, I guess even Eisuke has his troubles." My ears prick up at the sound of my name.

"This isn't trouble for him at all, this is just another card to play in the game of business." I can hear them whispering, a gentle giggle comes from Alice.

"Soryu? I was talking to myself." I peer over my shoulder quickly and see her smiling, I feel slightly pissed off that it's Soryu she's smiling at and realise even though I can make her body react however I want it to, she seems more at ease when she's with him. Even though Soryu hates woman, he's kind towards her and she doesn't have to pretend around him. _So who am I really pissed off with?_ I shake my head and focus on Carolina, these emotions today are getting to become a nuisance. "So does this business deal have to do with the hotel?" I can hear the pushing tone in her voice. She's trying to find things out and I know he won't answer, a good quality of Soryu's is he doesn't involve himself if he doesn't need to.

"I can't tell you that." I can almost see him crossing his arms, closing her off. "But he has more than one goal in mind, he never does anything without a reason."

"What other reason would there be other than growing the hotel?" She sounds confused, I look over my shoulder again while Carolina digs through another rack and see Soryu shrug.

"Who knows? Maybe it's something different." Her eyebrows knit together, I can tell she's getting frustrated with his vague answers.

"Come on man, give me a bloody clue." She hisses at him.

"Have you ever asked Eisuke why he holds the auctions?" I look back to Carolina and vaguely nod at the dress she is showing me, I'm more interested in the conversation going on behind me.

"No, I haven't. I don't know if you notice but other than him ordering me around, we don't talk much." Her tone is getting more and more aggressive.

"Oh, well then I can't tell you but when you find out the reason, then you will understand." I smile at his answer, Alice understanding my reasons for holding the auctions? She will never fully understand why.

* * *

 **ALICE**

While Soryu and I whisper to each other, I stare at Eisuke's back and can tell immediately that he's listening to us. Even though his back is turned, every now and again his head turns slightly in our direction. _How can I ever understand someone like him?_ He's cold, conceited, egotistical and controlling; I don't know anything about him really, I know he isn't the slightest bit interested in Carolina and that he distances himself from anyone.

"Oh, I just can't decide! I'll take it all!" Carolina's loud voice pulls me back to reality and I go to help the employees pile all the dresses she just bought into the car so we can head back to the hotel. Once we arrive at Tres Spades, Carolina suggests that we go to the V.I.P lounge to have something to drink while all her new clothes are taken to her room. "I bought so many great things today, thanks to you, Eisuke." _Ugh, she is such a pain!_

"I'm glad you are happy." He gives her his fake, empty smile.

"Oops, sorry but Daddy's calling. I won't be long." She stands up and blows Eisuke a kiss as she skips off. I clench my fists tightly, even if I'm pretending to be his girlfriend, I hate women like her; women who think that they can have anything they want even if they belong to someone else. Eisuke and Soryu notice that I'm shaking and I try to calm myself.

"I think she's finally cracked." Soryu jokes, both of them chuckle at my expense.

"Don't worry, you're doing well." Eisuke says. I close my eyes to take a couple of deep breaths.

"Here's your coffee." I open my eyes as our drinks arrive and I automatically put sugar in both Eisuke's coffee and my own. Eisuke looks surprised when he narrows his eyes at me. _Shit, I just did it because we have our coffees the same._

"Sorry, I noticed yesterday that you like your coffee how I do so just thought I would do it." I shrug. "Because, you know, that's what girlfriends do." I lamely add. He raises an eyebrow.

"You are perceptive of the most strangest things." I can't help but laugh.

"Boy, you have absolutely no clue. Did you want to do it yourself?"

"Hand it over." Eisuke grabs the cup from me and Soryu lets out a low chuckle.

"Eisuke likes three sugar cubes or two sugar packets in his coffee, with lots of milk." He glares at Soryu, the slightest bit of colour touching his cheeks.

"Shut up. No-one asked you." I laugh a little more.

"I guess Ota was right about you two." I remember Ota's earlier comment about how close they really are when they both look at me with the same look on their faces, but my laugh dies short when I see Carolina returning.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

As she laughs at us, I can't help but feel relaxed inside, Alice surprises me with the strangest little things that she finds amusing. Her face drops when Carolina sits back down beside me, a glare replacing the smile she had before.

"Daddy complimented you on the amount of fun I had today, he was super impressed so I asked him to let you handle it." I ignore my previous thoughts to focus my attention on Carolina.

"I appreciate it, Carolina." I smile at her and cross my arms. "You know you are very different from normal women." She is delighted when I smile at her.

"I already knew that, silly. If you need anything, you can always ask me." She places her hand on my forearm. "I'll do _anything_ for you." I hear a low growl coming from Alice's direction and there's a cruel smile on Carolina's lips. If she wasn't so annoying, I might actually enjoy my time with her. Carolina is in a very good mood as she flirts with me so I chalk the day up as a success but I know that we are not out of the woods yet, she will continue to be a thorn in my side until she is completely over me. I glance over at Alice, who is now staring out the window completely ignoring us; I can't see her eyes and I become frustrated as I don't know what she is thinking. I know she's just hoping for this to all be over. I sit back and look at Carolina, who is smiling as she throws an intense glare over at Alice now and again; both women are unaware of what the other is plotting and for the first time in a while, a shiver runs down my spine.

* * *

 **ALICE**

"Hold up! I'm actually allowed to go home?" I start shaking with excitement as Eisuke drops the bombshell.

"Yes, it's contingent upon your success." He allowed me to go home after being in the V.I.P lounge and I couldn't wait so I basically ran out the door. It's the first time in several days that I've been in my own bed, I feel like I'm dreaming as I stand in front of the employee apartments. _Of course, he had to use big words but fuck it, I'm here and I get to wear my own clothes and sleep in my own bed._ I pinch myself before I walk in the doors when suddenly two men grab me from behind, gag me and try to tie me up. I manage to kick one in the balls and elbow the other in the face but before I can run, I'm grabbed again and hit on the back of the head; before I lose consciousness, I see one of their faces. _Was he the one who had Fang at the airport? You evil bitch._ I awake shortly after to darkness and the slight shaking of a moving car, I start to feel truly afraid for my life and know that I need to look like brave because the moment they see how scared I am, that's when she's won. The car stops after a short while and I'm thrown out of the car onto cold, hard concrete. I try to listen to what's around me but I hear nothing but footsteps; I can smell salt though.

"Take off her blindfold." I immediately recognise the voice and the moment I see her face, she starts laughing. Carolina stands imposingly in front of me, while her two lackeys stand on either side of me, holding my arms. My fear turns into anger and blind hate.

"Oh, I get it. Your a mob boss's daughter, I can smell salt so I assume you expect me to _sleep with the fishes_." I put on my best Godfather voice and laugh.

"Can you just shut up! I wanted you here because nobody will be able to find you, I wanted to talk to you alone." Her face twists into an ugly expression as she yells at me.

"Yeah right, you could have gone about that in a better way than kidnapping me." I yell back at her. Carolina takes a dramatic breath before replying.

"I want you to break up with Eisuke." She says as calmly as she can but I'm too wound up from the last few days to calm myself down.

"What? So you have to intimidate people to get what you fucken want? ' _How can I get what I want. I know let's KIDNAP SOMEONE.'_ " She glares at me.

"This way there would be no interruptions. You don't deserve him at all, the way he looks at you and all the things he buys you, I want you out of his life." I laugh at her, it was more out of disbelief than anything else.

"Ha ha, you are going to have to do more than this to get that. I love him." The words fall out of my mouth as I'm caught up in the moment.

"Why you snotty, little bitch! You love him? Even now, when your life is in danger?" I nod, knowing I can't back out now.

"No matter what you do to me, you can't change how I feel and you can't get what you want. Even if you do kill me, I'll go happy knowing you _still_ wouldn't get what you want." _I don't care how mad I make her or what she does to me, that bitch isn't getting him._ Her lips contort into a smile.

"What about Soryu?" My facade flatters a little.

"What about him?" She can smell fear, I can see it in her eyes.

"If you love Eisuke, what about Soryu?" I glare at her, her smile is making my blood boil and I realise I have to keep saying whatever I need to to buy me time, it's what Eisuke would want and if I survive this, he might just set me free.

"Are you that narrow-minded that you couldn't love more than one person?" It's her turn to be surprised and I give her a cold smile, a trick I learnt off Eisuke. I calm my racing heart and look her in the eyes, before me; the mask of a beautiful Italian woman crumbles into the ugly person it hides underneath and when I don't avert my eyes she screams.

"That is it! BOYS!" I look to both sides and notice one is supporting a black eye, their grip tightens painfully. "Teach her a lesson!" I try to steel myself against them even when they reach into their pockets, I stand there afraid but willing to take whatever they give; I don't look away from Carolina. I can hear footsteps approaching fast over my frantically beating heart. "Eisuke! Soryu!" Before I know it both of the men who were holding me, are on the ground. I breath a sigh of relief. _I really thought I was a goner._


	7. Someone's Jealous

_It's not your fault that they hover  
I mean no disrespect  
It's my right to be hellish  
I still get jealous_

* * *

 **SORYU**

 _An hour ago..._

Alice runs out of the hotel, on her way back to the employee apartments as her reward for a successful day but my gut told me that there was more to the day than we knew.

"I have a bad feeling about this, Eisuke." I say, on our way back to the penthouse. "I don't think you should have let her go by herself or even be alone." Everyone knows how much I hate women but for some reason this one's different, she doesn't reek of perfume, she doesn't care about how she looks or someone's power, she isn't afraid of speaking her mind, she's open and honest and she's not afraid of me; well at least not anymore. Every one of the auction managers like her and enjoy having her around, even Eisuke though he would never admit that. Her smile flashes before my eyes, a smile so genuine when Eisuke said she was allowed home but I also saw the look in Carolina's eyes. The true look of a mobster, dark and plotting. "She should have stayed with us." I warn Eisuke but as always he ignores me, just smiles knowingly as we reach the Spades Room. After a while, he decides to page her saying he needs to tell her something but there is no answer; Eisuke tries again. _Riiiiinnnnggg Riiiiiinnnnnggg_. Still nothing.

"Damn it, she's not answering." He looks visibly worried so I whip out my cell phone and dial Inui.

"Trace Alice's pager." I wait for a minute while I hear keys on a keyboard being taped furiously. "Good, meet me there." I hang up and look at Eisuke, he's frowning as he looks in my direction. "She's at the port on Tokyo Bay." We run out the door without another word. We arrive at an abandoned warehouse with two SUV's parked outside, the same type that Carolina's men were driving today. We slowly sneak through and find it's not guarded, obviously they didn't expect us to find her.

"That's it! BOYS!" We hear a shrill voice and quickly make our way towards it. Alice isn't fighting back, instead she stands there holding Carolina's gaze, smiling in acceptance and I feel a slight pang in my heart. _Even in the face of danger, she still fights._ "Eisuke! Soryu!" We quickly knock out the guards and I notice one has a black eye. When did that happen? I look at her and she's breathing a sigh of relief as she looks at us. I tie the men up as Eisuke stands possessively beside Alice.

"Your joke has gone too far, Carolina." He gives her a cold glare and I leave them to it, making sure there is no-one else around.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I cross my arms and glare at Carolina, who stands there looking like a child who had her candy taken away.

"I'm sorry Eisuke, I did it for you." She tries her best to hide behind an innocent, apologetic look but I know better, I have hidden behind masks my entire life so I know when someone is trying to play me.

"The best thing about you, Carolina, is your honesty. Don't lie to me." Suddenly, the innocent facade drops and her eyes go cold and lips twist into a scowl. She mimics my stance, glaring back at me.

"I had no choice! I was jealous of her, jealous of how much you love her and I thought that if I made her smell like a skunk, then it would pull her from that high horse she sits on." I hear Alice scoff behind me.

"Make me smell like a skunk?! I thought you were going to bloody kill me!" Alice yells at her, still clinging onto my back. I watch Soryu search the men we have sitting on the ground, pulling out small bottles and shaking them in front of us.

"They were carrying tiny bottles, which I assume contain skunk scent." Carolina claps at her plan, even though it failed.

"It was my ultimate secret weapon." She beams proudly. I peer down at Alice and notice her facials are different to what they were when we arrived, she was accepting of her fate when she thought she was going to die, the look she has now is that she would have preferred death over skunk stench. Soryu clicks his tongue, scratching the back of his neck.

"Tch, glad I'm not the one you fell for." We all look at him. "If you really loved him, you wouldn't do anything to upset him." Carolina tilts her head and starts to think out loud.

"If I really loved him...? I can't believe you are lecturing me about love." She claps her hands under her chin. "That must mean you are genuinely concerned about me." Carolina beams at Soryu, hearts practically popping out of her eyes. "I have finally found true love." Soryu tenses, looking disturbed by where the situation is going and I hear Alice mumble something unintelligible. "Alice, you can have Eisuke. I have Soryu now." I hear a quiet breathy laugh come from Alice, her attitude quickly changed towards Alice but Soryu is still in shock.

"You son of a bitch!" Soryu glares at me as I smile at him.

"I guess she prefers cool guys." I start laughing when Soryu turns his back and walks away, taking out his cell phone.

"You have got to be kidding me." Carolina chases after him.

"Wait for me! I understand why Fang likes you so much." Her large breasts bouncing as she runs.

"Inui. Yeah, it's me. Bring the car around." Soryu quickly makes his way out of the warehouse with Carolina and her goons chasing after him, I keep laughing until they are gone. I feel Alice let go of my back and I face her.

"Was it your plan to have me kidnapped?!" She prods me in the chest. My mood darkens instantly.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I watch and try to wrap my head around what just happened. Once it all sinks in, one comment that Eisuke said stands out.

"Was it your plan to have me kidnapped?!" I poke him with my index finger and his laughter quickly dies. His signature stare chills me to my core and I take a step back. "I mean, thank you for saving me but seriously was that your plan?" He just turns his head away, staring off into the distance.

"I don't like it when people touch my possessions without my permission." He says bluntly. I roll my eyes, there he goes talking about me like I'm an object.

"Yeah, I didn't expect you to answer that." I mutter before saying. "Can you at least tell me how you found me?"

"I paged you in regard to something about tomorrow but you never answered, I had Soryu trace the GPS on the pager." His answer doesn't really surprise me.

"Of course, you have a GPS on the bloody pager." He looks away again and I realise that that small action annoys the crap out of me.

"I like to know where my things are at all times." He suddenly looks at me, locking our eyes. "You kept the act up despite you fearing for your life." I shrug, it was my turn to look away as the intensity of his stare was making me feel uneasy.

"What else was I meant to do?" I won't ever admit to him what I said. He smirks and crosses his arms.

"You did well and thanks to you, Carolina has turned her affections to Soryu." I instantly feel deflated at his comment but I try to keep it from my face. I don't want her to have either Eisuke or Soryu.

"That's why you invited Soryu today, didn't you?" He has a glint in his eyes and his smirk becomes a full grin.

"She is the daughter of a mafia boss, I thought it would be a good match." He chuckles with genuine amusement, we can still hear Carolina in the distance. "I didn't plan on you being kidnapped." His voice is so low, I thought I imagined it.

"I'm glad you enjoyed yourself but I don't think Soryu enjoyed himself nearly as much." I say, trying to cheer up the sudden awkwardness. I do feel bad for Soryu though, he seems extremely disturbed by the situation.

"I didn't expect you to do so well, you have done a very good job." He has a kind smile on his face and for some reason, it warms me up and I beam at him, my ears going red in response.

"Thank you." I realise that his smile, his genuine smile is very attractive on him. The next day, I go to work like nothing happened the night before. On my way down the hallway, I bump into Takahiro.

"Good morning." He smiles at me.

"Hey, morning. Did you enjoy the rest of your day the other day? Sorry I had to run off." His smile seems to get bigger.

"Yes, your friend, Lexi, is quite lovely; we ended up spending most of the day together." I smile as play match-maker worked and I remind myself to send a text to Lexi later. Takahiro suddenly looks at me with concern.

"Why is your elbow red? Are you okay?" He reaches out to touch my right arm and it twist my arm to see it myself, I didn't realise I had skinned it last night but that would explain why it stung a little this morning. Takahiro pulls a bandage out of his pocket. "Here use this." I laugh.

"You really have everything on you, don't you?" He joins in on my laughter.

"I have to be prepared and have everything we need for our guests needs. Good luck for today." He leaves and I feel a small amount of normalcy that's been missing from the last couple of days. Ever since I started 'dating' Eisuke, Erika has been getting worse with her snide comments and the guys are more and more stranger every time I see them so Takahiro and the girls are always a breath of fresh air. I put on the bandage and continue my way towards the locker room.

"You were with Mr. Ichinomiya yesterday, weren't you?" Kaya starts in on me as soon she sees me in the locker room, I nervously laugh scratching my neck.

"Yeah, I hope I didn't cause you too much trouble?" She shakes her head.

"Don't worry girl, I got your back but if you are dating him, why don't you just quit? You know, marry rich and never need to lift a finger again." She laughs as she elbows me in the ribs. "Then you can take me everywhere I want for covering for your ass many times." I burst out laughing.

"Shit, we are no where close to getting married." _We aren't even really dating._ She smiles sweetly.

"You are seriously living my dream, Alice. Prince Charming is absolutely crazy about you. It is so romantic between you two." I can't stop laughing as I know the truth about the supposed romance between us.

"Yeah, yeah." I wave her off. We must be doing well if everyone believes we are truly in love, I might even tell him for a laugh. We finish getting dressed and we head off to work.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I go to collect Alice for the dinner we were invited to with the Buccis, we head inside a gourmet restaurant in Kagurazaka; Alice whistles quietly at the decor as we head to our table.

"I hear my daughter gave you a bit of trouble last night." Mr Bucci looks over at Alice while sipping on his sake. It doesn't surprise me that he knows about it and Carolina looks completely relaxed.

"Oh Daddy, it's all in the past. Live and let live." Carolina giggles.

"Carolina was having so much fun, she just got carried away." I say, brushing the situation aside with a smile. Alice nearly chokes on her sake beside me. "We didn't mind showing her around yesterday, did we, Alice?" I smile at Alice and I can already tell she knows that the smile I wear is the same I always wear when in public, she returns the smile almost instantaneously, following my lead and playing it cool. Tricks she learnt from me since we started this ruse.

"Of course, I didn't mind at all." Mr Bucci laughs.

"I knew you were a strong woman from the moment I saw you, Alice." I nod to his compliment of Alice, wearing a kind expression.

"Of course she is, I picked her after all." Suddenly, Mr Bucci's expression turns serious.

"At first, I was surprised one woman was enough for you but now I understand. It's clear to me, that you are a trustworthy young man and I know you will fit right in with the family." _We are almost there._ I try to suppress a smile.

"Thank you." Carolina smiles at her father.

"I have been telling you that for ages Daddy. He would be perfect for the family and I want Soryu to _REALLY_ be a part of the family." I feel Alice tense sightly beside me. _Why does her comment bother Alice?_ "What kind of women does he like?" Alice seems to sit up straighter, obviously interested but yet she still pretends to not care and that annoys me a little, she is my possession and she belongs to me.

"He doesn't like women who wear too much perfume." I say bluntly and both Buccis look at me curiously until Carolina breaks the silence.

"Really? Oh no." She almost looks upset but she instantly perks up. "Starting tomorrow I will not wear a drop of perfume." Mr Bucci looks at his daughter, surprised.

"You don't have feelings for Eisuke anymore?" I suppress a shiver down my spine, a woman like her is too much trouble for me to bother with.

"Sorry Daddy, I am a passionate woman. Eisuke is nothing more than an amico." Alice remains silent thoughout the whole exchange, I begin to wonder what she is thinking. Alice must be glad that this will be over, right? "I see us having a long lasting friendship."

"That would make me very happy." I give her a polite smile and suddenly her gaze falls on Alice.

"Alice, you think that Soryu will fall in love with me right?" Carolina's tone is sharp but Alice doesn't hesitate with her answer.

"I think you two will make a great couple." Even though she is smiling, I can see her real emotions on her eyes.

* * *

 **ALICE**

As soon as the words fall out of my mouth, I immediately hate the taste of them but I know I have to keep up appearances no matter what, no matter how sick to my stomach I feel. These two men, Eisuke Ichinomiya and Soryu Oh, have me by the heart strings and even though I hardly admit it to myself, let alone anyone else, I begin to care for them above the rest of the crazy crowd they hang around. Eisuke, the 29 year old cold-hearted CEO billionaire with his constant mystery of his true self. Soryu, the 28 year old second in charge mafia boss of the Ice Dragons with his hard exterior and kind heart. But right now, with Carolina pushing for an answer, I had to say what I could to keep the dogs at bay.

"I knew it." Her smile changes her features completely. "At first, I thought you were impossible to deal with but now I see I was wrong." I let out a laugh, which for her seems like a good response.

"I could say the same for you." Her laughter fills the room even when she covers her mouth.

"I think are going to be great friends, Alice." As much as I wanted to tell her how I truly felt about her, I know I, yet again, have no choice on where my life goes.

"Thanks. So do I." I give her my best smile.

"Because you and Eisuke are so in love, I'm going to need your advice all the time about my relationship with Soryu." _Seriously woman, there is not much advice I could give when there is nothing there._ If Carolina wasn't the daughter of an Italian mafia boss, you would mistake her behaviour for one of a stalker.

"That'll be a great idea, won't it Alice?" Eisuke nudges me under the table with his knee, I look up at him before returning my gaze to Carolina.

"It sounds like a dream come true." _More like a living nightmare._ I hide my mocking tone as best as I can.

"Ha, they seem to be getting along great already." Mr. Bucci laughs wholeheartedly. "I'm very pleased at the outcome of tonight." The Bucci's and Eisuke seem to be in good moods so hopefully that means this deal is going to go through and I will never have to see them again. My heart sinks a little at the full meaning behind that. I focus on my food and try to eat in peace, while Eisuke and Mr. Bucci continue the friendly banter, my stomach seems grateful for the intake of food and I feel my mood lifting a little. After dinner, we say goodnight to the Bucci's and as we turn to leave, I feel a strange sensation run down my back; it isn't that Eisuke has his hand pressed against the small of my back but more like someone was watching me. I pause, causing Eisuke to pick up on my emotions.

"Is something the matter?" I shake my head, trying to ignore my instinct to turn around and look, I carry on because I didn't want to ruin Eisuke's mood by making him wait. We get into the limo and finally the sensation leaves. We head to the apartments, which means I get to sleep in my own bed tonight so I stare out the window, thinking while Eisuke is on the phone. We never talk much when we alone unless he wants to lecture me so I begin to sing to myself, feeling nostalgic and missing home. When I had time off work, I used to go out with the girls but lately I haven't had any time to do much of anything so when Eisuke finishes his phone call, I decide to ask.

"Does the hotel normally do stuff for the staff?" Eisuke looks down at me. "Okay, guess not but hear me out. You should do a competition for the staff to participate in, have a prize like a dinner out plus one and have the rest of the auction managers, including yourself, judge. You know Baba and Ota would love that and you guys don't even have to physically be there, seen you have the giant big brother TV in the Spades Room." I carry on with my pitch and am surprised as he sits there, legs crossed, patiently listening.

"Fine, whatever you want. As long as I get something out of it." I sit there for a moment in shock, I didn't think he would agree so quickly. "You did well tonight so you deserve a reward." He brushes off his comment with a casually shrug and pulls out his cell phone. "Kenzaki, it's me. Yes, I want a karaoke contest set up for the staff for tomorrow night. Yes, there will be a prize. Only staff who are willing to participate can have night off. Yes, in the ballroom. Good, organise it." I beam brightly as he makes the plan. _He actually listened to me._ My heart pounds and I feel the colour rise to my cheeks. The next morning, at the staff meeting, Mrs. Kenzaki explained the competition to all the staff.

"It's a karaoke contest that will be held in the ballroom for staff who are wanting to participate. Anyone is free to watch as long as you are not meant to be working otherwise. There are 5 V.I.P judges who will be watching elsewhere and communicating with me so there is no bribery. The prize is an all expenses paid dinner for you and someone else plus a night paid for here, as a V.I.P guest." Everyone starts chattering as she tells us about the prize. "To enter, you get to sing one song each round and if you make it to the finals, that is when the judges will come down and personally watch." Everyone is ecstatic as we carry on throughout our shift, nothing can ruin my my mood today, not even Erika because Eisuke actually listened to me. The day progresses smoothly and before I know it, it's evening and I'm in the penthouse, getting ready.

"Are you actually going to sing, Alice?" Ota teases. "I've heard you in the shower. Good thing you didn't choose that as a career." I flip him the finger because I haven't sung in the shower here, I'm always too nervous and in a hurry. I wear the blue dress that Eisuke picked and silver heels, I don't know why I chose these but I wanted him to be impressed.

"Oh, my dear." Baba lets out a wolf whistle. "If you don't steal the show, you definitely will steal my heart." I blush at his causal flirtation and look over at Soryu, who is quietly watching on the couch, our eyes meet briefly and a small smile plays on his lips. Eisuke walks in, demanding attention as always.

"You better do well, I didn't waste money on that prize for anyone to have it." I nod and take my leave. _Of course, he did it for me but didn't have to be an ass about it._ I kid myself as I know better, despite him actually listening, Eisuke is still an asshole.

* * *

 **SORYU**

Eisuke had explained what was happening earlier that day and for once, Kishi and I agreed that we didn't want to participate in this but when he brought up that it was Alice's idea, I faltered and gave in. I watched quietly as Baba and Ota casually flirted with her, no matter how she acts when riled up by Eisuke, she still blushes every time one of them sends a comment her way but I must admit she does look beautiful. Eisuke has a good eye when it comes to fashion and she was fit to be a queen. _Could she be a mafia queen?_ I shake my head at the thought, she's too pure for my world and even though Eisuke doesn't deserve her, neither do I. I had already told him about my worries but he laughed me off as usual, telling me I need to stop being so serious and how I never cared in the first place so I shouldn't care now. _I shouldn't care and I don't know why I do. I also don't know why he's playing along with her idea._

"Welcome everybody, to our first ever staff karaoke contest." Mrs. Kenzaki's face pops up on the TV and a camera pans the room. "We have a good number of contestants so we will be having 10 rounds. The groups have already been picked with 5 rounds each, only one person from each group will carry on to the finals." She carries on explaining.

" _Whistle._ That's our girl!" Baba whistles at the TV when Alice's face comes into shot. Eisuke yells for quiet, I can see Baba's comments are making him annoyed, it seems to be more than what he lets on. The first contestant stands on stage and starts singing a song from a group from her home country.

" _Baby come close, baby come close to me  
I need a dose, I need you medically  
I wanna role you, lick you up, stick you down  
Inhale, exhale._"

None of us recognise the song.

"Is that song about what I think it's about?" Ota tilts his head to the side, an evil smile on his face.

"A kid like you shouldn't know what that is." Kishi makes a dig at him and we all have a good laugh at Ota's expense, he pouts at us.

"Thank you, Lexi." Mrs. Kenzaki continues on with the contest.

"Lexi? Hey, isn't that one of Alice's friends?" Baba looks at Eisuke, who shrugs.

"She's nothing to me." He says.

"Aw, come on Boss. You should be interested in her friends, even if your relationship is a scam." He scratches his chin, looking serious for a moment. The night continues when Ota points out another one of Alice's friends. Another girl that came with her to Japan.

" _It starts in my toes, and I crinkle my nose  
Where ever it goes, I already know  
That you make me smile, please, stay for a while now  
Just take your time where ever you go."_

While she sings, Ota grins.

"I like her, she has spunk." He tucks a strand of hair behind his ear.

"Yeah, a kid who likes a kid no surprise there." Kishi blows a puff of smoke out the window. We keep voting and Eisuke keeps relaying to Kenzaki. A woman enters the stage, with a very sour look on her face. "Hehe, she almost looks like Soryu with that look." My eye twitches.

"What did you say?!" I reach inside my breast pocket but Eisuke snaps.

"Enough of that. This isn't the time." He looks serious as he watches the screen.

 _"Once upon a time, I met the perfect guy  
He had that Colgate smile, he had that suit and tie  
Mama always said get a rich boyfriend  
You don't gotta love him girl, you can pretend."_

I notice a shiver run down all of our spines, she isn't looking at the camera but out at the audience, her song choice was made more for a dig than to actually get very far. I look at Eisuke, who seems to have the same thoughts as myself. Alice.

"Ooooo this seems like it isn't a total bore after all." Ota and Baba seem to be up to something.

"Yes, it does look like there is a rivalry in the midst." They chuckle and again we all vote. It took a couple more staff members to reach Alice, my heart picks up a little when I see her smile at the camera, I resist the urge to smile because it would only bring more unnecessary comments.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Soryu and the others eagerly stare at the TV and I follow their gaze, Alice stands in front of the microphone with a shy smile on her face. Something inside me skips when I see that she's still wearing the ring I bought her. Her face is red and it travels down her neck, she's nervous? I chuckle at the thought. She has faced much worse lately but yet a simple public display gets her nervous going.

" _You saw her bathing on the roof  
Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew ya  
She tied you to the kitchen chair  
She broke your throne and she cut your hair  
And from your lips, she drew the Hallelujah"  
_

From the moment Alice opened her mouth, they all went quiet. I study them, wondering which one was watching her more intently. Baba and Ota are grinning madly, Kishi looks impressed but Soryu, Soryu sits there with a look I have never seen before in all the years I have known him.

 _"Well baby, I've been here before  
I've seen this room and I've walked this floor  
I used to live alone before I knew ya  
And I've seen your flag on the marble arch  
And love is not a victory march  
It's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah"_

"Kid's actually got talent." Kishi says as we finish the voting. "But we already know who's going to win." I ignore him as we head down to the ballroom. _She picked that song for a reason._

* * *

 **ALICE**

My heart beats hard against my chest as Mrs. Kenzaki announces the finalists, I check the time on my phone and see it's 10pm and mostly everyone here is having a blast, both Kaya and Lexi are drunk and talking to Takahiro. Some guests had heard about the contest and the room is filled with both staff and guests. Erika glares over at me as my name is called.

"Whoooo ALICE!" I laugh at their drunken comments. _Bloody marvelous idiots._ They have no idea how much they mean to me at times like this. Suddenly Erika stands beside me, her name also being called. The two finalists and from the look on her face, it's almost like it's a fight to the death. Suddenly a huge commotion starts when Eisuke and the others enter the room. _Dayum!_ My nerves are through the roof, my whole body probably looks like a tomato and my heart is pounding in my ears but I cannot help but make my heart worse by admiring the view before me. Eisuke saunters over to a table especially reserved for them with Baba and Ota on his left, both grinning from ear to ear and Soryu and Kishi on his right, both looking serious. They look like something out of a celebrity magazine.

"Don't think you can cheat because your boyfriend is a judge." Erika hisses in my ear. She snatches the microphone from it's stand and glares at me from the middle of the stage.

 _"I know that dress is karma, perfume regret  
_ _You got me thinking about when you were mine  
And now I'm all up on ya, what you expect  
But your not coming home with me tonight"_

As Erika sings, she makes her way down to the judges table and starts trying to seductively dance in front of them, all the while keeping eye contact with me. I can feel the daggers and I ball my fists, cutting my palms with my nails, all of the previous nerves were out the window. _You want a fight, bitch we gonna have one_. She smirks as she makes her way back at the end of her song and hands the microphone to me.

"Don't mess up now." She giggles as she goes to stand at the edge of the stage. I take a few deep breaths trying to get my head into a space where she isn't. I look over at the crowd and spot my three friends waving and cheering, I look at the auction managers and am met with a range of facials. No backing out now. The beat starts and I let myself go.

 _"I've been hearing symphonies  
Before all I heard was silence  
A rhapsody for you and me  
And every melody is timeless  
Life was string me along  
_ _Then you came and you cut me loose  
_ _Was solo singing on my own  
_ _Now I can't find the key without you"_

* * *

 **Author's Note: Hey everyone, yes this chapter was extremely long but I hope it's still alright. I wanted to try something different and add a completely new element to the story as it will help to explore the MC and other character's feelings later on :) please read and review xx**


	8. Full Of Insults

_Sometimes I get you_  
 _Sometimes I don't understand_  
 _Sometimes I love you_  
 _Other times it's you I can't stand_

* * *

 **ALICE**

It's been a couple of days since I won the competition, I feel like I won based on the fact that it's them but according to Soryu, Eisuke decided I had _actual talent_. I still need to decide what to do with the prize and at every chance they get the guys pitch in who I should take and why. While I'm pondering, I'm called up to the Spades Room. Everyone is here and they are all gathered around the couches.

"There is going to be an auction in three days." Eisuke re-crosses his legs while looking at us. Soryu folds his arms, standing against the wall.

"That's awfully sudden." Everyone nods in agreement. Baba has a serious look on his face.

"Hang on, that day isn't particularly lucky." He chimes in.

"Is there something that you want to put up for auction?" Ota asks the question we are all thinking. There has to be a reason why he wants an auction set up so quickly.

"A woman." I freeze, everything around me seems to spin for a second. I realise I'm having an anxiety attack, before I can freak out I notice Soryu gently shaking his head. _He's okay with this?!_

"You're selling a woman?" Soryu calmly says.

"That's pretty unusual. That'll be the second one after Alice." Baba scratches his chin, obviously thinking about the situation.

"Has the woman agreed to this?" Mamoru says, while blowing smoke out the window. "It's against the rules to sell someone who doesn't consent." That's when a wave of realisation hits me.

"What do you mean, against the rules?" He sighs, taking another drag. I stand up and glare at all of them, Mamoru especially. "What..the hell...do you mean?" I slowly speak and I notice Ota shiver a little at the malice in my voice.

"You cannot sell someone unless they give ya consent." Mamoru explains plainly. I feel something inside me break and every little thing that has annoyed me since day one has breaks through.

"Are you fucken kidding me?!" Nearly everyone shudders when I snap, Eisuke watches quietly. "I was forced into that cage. I was stripped down and shoved into a way too short nightgown. I feared for my God damn life!" I see Eisuke smile slightly, like he's impressed.

"It was against the rules." Mamoru smirks at me. "That's why Eisuke bought you so then no-one would be at fault for the violation." Eisuke has a scowl on his face, obviously over my rant, I just pant and glare at all of them.

"You think way too much. It will be three days until the next auction." Eisuke brings the subject back to auction, a cruel smile plays on his lips. "So think of other items you would like to put up."

"I can finally sell that picture." Baba thinks out loud, which causes Ota to look a little upset.

"What do you mean sell it? I thought you liked it." Baba just chuckles, Ota is the same age as me but when he pouts, his clean shaven face looks a lot younger than me.

"Oh Ota, art is like a beautiful woman, nothing good ever happens if you keep them around for too long." They both look at me with mischievous grins on their faces, I scoff.

"You should be so lucky." They continue to chuckle so I turn to Eisuke. "Does the woman know?" My emotions are every where when he glares at me, something about that smoldering glare both terrifies and excites me.

"Shut up. You have no say in any of this." My eye begins to twitch. A nerve response which seems to happen more and more around this lot.

"You know what-" I begin to rip him a new one when I'm cut off by Soryu.

"You say the auction is in three days? I will go and get the invite list prepared." I continue to stare at them and they all continue to ignore me.

"Good." Eisuke finishes the meeting with that one word and Baba and Ota start to muse about who to invite, Mamoru stands by his usual window and Soryu and Eisuke whisper on the couch. I'm still pissed about the way he silenced me.

"SHUT UP!" Everyone freezes. "What if she doesn't want this? Tell me, what if that poor woman doesn't want to be sold?" Baba just shrugs.

"It doesn't matter, it's already been decided." The whole lot of them nod in agreement.

"Fuck sakes. You are all nuts, you know that, if you are all okay with this then you all need serious help." They just stare at me, no-one giving me an answer. I was put up for auction by accident, I fold my arms and pout; this is a different situation and they don't seem to care at all. "Do you guys seriously have no hesitation or thoughts on doing this to that poor girl?" I glare at them but none of them meet my gaze and then I start to get nasty. "Yeah, doesn't surprise me. A Hong Kong mobster who's natural face is super serious, a master world class thief who likes to flirt with any woman that catches his eye, a slacker detective who smokes more than he works and thinks he's super mature calling me kid all the time, the 'Angelic Artist' who is actually evil in his view of the world and doesn't see the beauty he paints and of course, the rich boy billionaire who treats everyone like a pawn in a chess game instead of acting like an actual human being. None of you have any morals and I'm sorry to offend you but no-one is listening to me so fucken forgive me if I'm a little pissed off!" Before any of them can say anything, I turn on my heel and storm off.

* * *

 **SORYU**

I watch as Alice turns and leaves, her fists shaking slightly by her side and I notice a fire in her that burns bright, you could tell that she is very upset and very angry, Her words echo in my mind, her voice laced with venom and hate; I'm used to that attitude but for some reason it bothers me that it's coming from her. We all kept a straight face while she yelled at us and when she left, we still sit here reeling from the hole she ripped.

"Well, that was a tad bit harsh." Baba breaks the silence, a slight pout on his face. "She may have a cute face but she does have a bite to her."

"She really is a kid if she thought the world is all puppies and rainbows." I glare at Mamoru, he was the whole reason she got riled up. Eisuke doesn't comment about any of it, he wouldn't because he likes to avoid the drama; he leaves to his suite going back to his work as if nothing happened. We continue organising the invite list but it doesn't stop the guilt from eating me, which is silly because before I met this woman, I couldn't have cared less about how any woman felt.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

The day of the auctions arrive and I decide to take Alice with me, for no other reason than to teach her a lesson. When the woman appears on stage and for once, Alice says nothing, she stays quiet and glares at us. It annoys me that even after the amount of time she spends in the penthouse, she still doesn't understand which is what she needs to do, she needs to understand why we do what we do. Essentially, it is to stave off boredom but sometimes there are other reasons, my musing is interrupted by the Mad Hatter appearing next to the cage.

"Welcome, tonight we have a very special item, a beautiful, young Japanese woman. We had a similar item go for $20 million." The crowd begins to buzz, the Hatter flashes his creepy, dead smile. "I wonder what tonight's item will be. Let's start the bidding at $100,000 from #5." The bidding starts and Alice suddenly grabs my arm.

"Stop it." She growls. "Please." Her light blue eyes shining up at me, her face softening. "No-one would chose this to happen to them, I was in that position and it feels horrible being there. It's against the rules, please, you can stop this from happening." Her pleading tugs at the soft spot that she created in me but I know better than to give in and wave her arm off.

"Anything can be sold here as long as there is someone willing to pay the price to buy it. That's what an auction is." I harshly say. Her entire face changes at my words.

"Is money so important?" The venom in her words nearly cut through my facade. "Do you like to profit from the misfortune of others? What a-" I cut her off. I'm tired of listening to her insults.

"You have the wrong idea, we are only the sponsors. We don't need to think about the participant's circumstances." She scoffs.

"You're joking, right? Not even you could be that cruel." I give her my coldest smile.

"I bought you and found good use for you, someone will do the same for her." I feel the anger coming off her, her expression full of hate.

"I knew you were a lot of things but you are a real scumbag." Her words stir me but before I can respond my phone interrupts.

"Excuse me," I raise a finger to silence her. "Mr. Bucci, hello." Alice sits there with her mouth wide open. "Yes, it's Ichinomiya. Yes, all the arrangements have been made. There will be no problems." I stand up and walk away. It doesn't matter what Alice says, she is nothing but a tool. How she smiles, her sharp responses and strong will means nothing in the way of business so I walk out of the booth to continue the call.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I watch quietly as Eisuke leaves on his phone, anger once again being my primary emotion.

"You guys are seriously okay with this?" I hiss at them, the bidding is still going on but I cannot bare to look at the stage.

"Don't worry, just be a good girl and sit still." Ota's eyes are gentle for a second, like he's looking at a scared puppy.

"Boss wouldn't break the rules, he wouldn't do anything to endanger the auctions." Baba whispers in my ear, I look around at them, all watching as if something amazing was going to happen.

"Even if it's against her will?" Soryu gives me a wry smile.

"Who said it was against her will?" His voice is almost gentle but his expression is the same cold face as the rest of them. _Always the cryptic._ I feel my admiration for Soryu and Eisuke deplete.

"No-one did but none of you implied it was with her permission either." _Because honestly, why would someone choose this?_ The auction managers look at each other before anyone decides to answer me.

"Eisuke doesn't do anything without a good reason." Ota tucks his hair behind his ear, an evil smile on his lips.

"Don't bother, the kid wouldn't understand the inner workings of adults." Mamoru brushes his bangs back, looking strangely sexy as he does. "Just let it go, kid." I remember Soryu once mentioned something about Eisuke and me understanding but Soryu avoids my gaze so I can't ask him anything. The booth falls silent as they watch on, putting blind trust in Eisuke.

"Sold to #17!" My attention snaps back to the stage when the auctioneer rings the bell, meaning the end of the bidding. I watch helpless as the woman is carried off stage and I silently brood. I could have done something more, but I didn't and now I feel like if anything was to happen to her, it would be my fault.


	9. The Heart Wants What It Wants

_We're on the right side of rock bottom  
Into you, I just keep crawling  
You're the best kind of bad something  
'Cause we keep on coming back for more_

* * *

 **ALICE**

It's been a few days since the woman was sold at the black market auction and it's also been the same amount of days since I spoke to any of the auction managers outside of the usual work orders, a few days since I closed off my heart because I couldn't stop thinking about that night. She was sold whether it was with her permission or without, there is no reasoning to it and she wasn't bought by the auction managers like I was and I shiver at the thought of _who_ it was that did. The Mad Hatter pops up in my head. _"Make her your slave, keep her as a toy. It's up to you to decide."_ His creepy smile haunts me at night, he is truly the definition of the Mad Hatter, his words always stir resentment. Could I have helped her? Whether I could, I should have tried... I did try.

"Anything can be sold here as long as someone is willing to pay the price. That's what an auction is." Eisuke's face was cold that night, closed off and evil. "We're only sponsors, we don't have to think about the participant's circumstances." Anger fills me when I remember his cold, unemotional words. I can't go up against any of them and whatever I felt for them, they broke. That little bubble of admiration popped that night. I hated feeling helpless when I was put up for auction and yet, they made me sit there and watch as another woman got sold, making me feel helpless once again.

"I'm sick of feeling pathetic." I sigh to myself.

"Alice! You need to straighten up those sheets." The maid, Chisato, who I'm always partnered with brings me back to reality.

"Shit, I mean shoot. I'm sorry." I begin to remake the bed.

"What's going on with you? All you have been doing lately is sigh." She's never questioned me before but then again, I'm not normally this slack.

"I just have a lot on my mind. I will try to be more careful." She gives a kind smile. Chisato definitely gives off an older sister vibe.

"I would be happy to give you some advice if you need it." I can't honestly tell her anything so I brush it off.

"No, thank you. I think I will be alright." It's not like I can tell her about the auctions, or the managers, or anything other than boy trouble and we don't know each other like that. "I'm done putting out fresh towels." A bright smile shines on her face.

"Okay then, let's move on to the next room." I nod and follow her out into the hallway, where we bump into Soryu.

"Good morning." He says as Chisato and I both bow, to her he is just a V.I.P guest so I have to be respectful in front of her. He stares at us, obviously bewildered by my polite greeting.

"Good morning, sir." I watch as she eyes him up, I understand why as he definitely lets off the mafia vibe from his slicked back hair to his shiny shoes.

"Alice, may we talk?" I blink at him, trying to act like I don't know what he wants and also trying not to let him know that I am VERY angry with him.

"I'm sorry, _sir_. Unless it is to help you with something regarding the hotel then I cannot neglect other guests needs to chat with you." I try to say as straight faced as possible.

"Alice." Chisato has a serious look on her face. "He is a guest and if there is something that he is wanting to ask you then it is your job to attend to his needs. I will carry on while you help this guest." She bows to Soryu and leaves. I frown after her, he is one of the reasons my work is being affected and now I'm stuck here in the hallway with him. Soryu scratches the back of his neck, which is cute in a way, and avoids my eyes so I stand there with a frown on my face, arms folded and begin tapping my foot; once he finally looks at me, I notice he is slightly blushing.

"You look like a mafia wife." His low voice causes my heart to race, a blush forming on my cheeks this time.

"You know there are cameras everywhere? Everyone is going to see this and if Eisuke finds out.." I let out a low whistle to exaggerate my point. My parents always said I had a flair for the dramatic.

"You were the one who flirted with me first." A cheeky smile plays on his lips and I know he's remembering that day, my ears begin to burn and I know my face is probably red now. "I can handle Eisuke." I fumble to get my mind straight.

"What..what do you want?" I resume my stance, trying to keep my composure from slipping.

"I just wanted to see how you are, you were very upset the other night and you haven't spoken to us since." I've tried all day to keep the thoughts out of my head but I didn't do very well as I couldn't focus and here he is, Soryu Oh, one of the problems in my head, asking me how I am. I peer at my watch and realise it's starting to get late, I can't leave Chisato alone for too long otherwise we won't get done before evening check ins. Being the owner's 'girlfiend' and having that held over my head is hard enough but if I'm seen standing around talking, people will talk even more and I have enough problems to deal with. I take a deep breath and try to figure out what to say but his slender grey eyes pull the truth out of me.

"I am hurt, it hurt seeing all of you sitting there like nothing wrong was happening. I thought that you were all better than that but I guess I was wrong." I look down and kick the floor with the toe of my shoe, when he doesn't say anything I turn to leave; suddenly he grabs my wrist causing me to look into his eyes.

"I'm sorry." That's all he says before he lets go and leaves.

* * *

 **SORYU**

I don't know why I went to go see Alice, I knew it wouldn't accomplish anything but I couldn't help but feel guilty. I make my way to the penthouse, trying to compose myself. When I enter, I notice that everyone is here and they all stare at me like I have something on my face.

"She belongs to me." Eisuke makes a claim from the usual couch he sits on but I don't care.

"We all bought her, you just claimed her as an object for you alone to use." We never argue so the room immediately becomes filled with tension.

"You have more important things to worry about, Soryu. Carolina Bucci, Mei Ling Lee, they are woman who hold more power than a lowly maid." He's right, both of them have more use for me to gain control of the Ice Dragons but Carolina reeks of perfume and is more interested in what she can get and Mei Ling is like a little sister to me. Eisuke has an arrogant smile on his face and it annoys the hell out of me. "Don't lose sight, Soryu. Alice is nothing and wouldn't last a day in the real world." I back down knowing better than to try and fight him when he knows he's right. When Eisuke is finished with Alice, she will be free and I know she wouldn't last in either of our worlds; even with her fiery attitude and charisma. I walk towards him.

"You think of her like I do, I have seen the way you look at her and how you behave with her. Don't think it's just me who is allowing his interests to waver." I whisper in his ear before I leave to my suite. I need to compose myself better, if I want to be the leader of the Dragons then I can't let myself drown in her. I punch the door frame, aggravated at myself. Alice has gotten underneath my skin, whether I want to admit it or not and she has made me weak. I make a few calls to Inui and other members to make sure everything is going smoothly. I hate to admit that Eisuke is right about the other woman, I'm stuck between two mafia princesses already and a non-mafia woman wouldn't stand a chance. My phone chimes and I notice it's a text from Alice.

 _'I have the day off at the beginning of next week. If you are really sorry then meet me and prove it.'_ My heart pounds as I reply, I have never felt this way before, not even when I'm in the middle of a firefight and I reprimand myself. I cannot allow her to get too far in but the prospect of getting to know her wins out.

 _'Keep your day free for me, I will take you somewhere special.'_

* * *

 **ALICE**

I couldn't help it but Soryu makes my heart race in a way I never knew before. Both him and Eisuke do but funnily enough, Soryu is a lot easier to get along with when he isn't a serious, brooding grump. Eisuke is a very hard case to crack, sometimes I get through to him but then sometimes it feels like I'm at square one again. When Soryu's reply comes through, I grin. When I was on my break, the girls helped me with some advice on how to deal with Soryu himself, well, in a way. They automatically guessed that it had to do with a guy because I definitely couldn't tell them it was actually between two guys or the woman at the auction; they calmed me down and helped me from spacing out during my next shift. I head to a room to deliver a cake and flowers that had been required by a guest before my shift ends this evening, the flowers are a beautiful bouquet and the cake looks really delicious. _I wonder if this for a special occasion._ I smile to myself when I think of a man doing something romantic like this for me, despite my dealings with men and my outward attitude; I am a hopeless romantic. I begin to wonder what Soryu or Eisuke would do for a special occasion but quickly shake my head before letting that thought run wild. These kinds of thoughts are dangerous, allowing my heart to invest in something as dangerous as these men and trying to compare them would be a dangerous game to play. _I do have a way to find out though._ I think of the prize I had won and begin to plan something in my head.

"Excuse me." I knock on the guest's door.

"Come in." A male's voice calls me from behind the door, so I open it to find a man and a woman in the room. I quickly look away from the woman as I instantly recognise her. She's the woman who got sold at the auction so that means this man was the winner. "Can you put it down on the table, please." He nods towards the items I hold in my hand and I quickly do so. I look him over and realise he has a gentle smile on his face as he looks at the woman and she looks quite relaxed.

"Enjoy your evening." I bow. "If there is anything else I could help you with, don't hesitate to call." I smile and leave the room as the man hands her the flowers. _She looks so happy with him._ I breath a sigh of relief, I'm glad she is safe. I head towards the penthouse as my shift finally ends and begin to think about all the things today. I need to use my prize but I also need to find out any details about the couple, it's always simple to ask but when it comes to the prize, I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish it.

"Give me back the woman! She's mine!" A very angry man is on the closed-circuit TV and I realise I may not need to work too hard to get that information after all.

"The winning bidder retains ownership of the item for sale at the auction." I hear Eisuke's business voice say back. "And you have already received the appropriate payment. Now, I will ask for you to leave."

"Damn you! You're going to pay for this." As the man leaves, the TV goes dark.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Stupid idiot, there are always some who try to fight the winning bids when things don't go their way but for him to come and threaten me; he has no idea who he is messing with.

"I'll be upstairs, if you need me, call me." I notice Alice had walked in and heard the commotion. As I go upstairs, I hear Baba and Ota talking about the woman with Alice piping up, which is the first time I've heard her voice since that evening, unless it was necessary for her to talk. Alice has been trying to find out about that woman and she may finally get some information to keep her from grumbling around the penthouse. I leave my living room to go work in my office so I don't have to listen to Baba and Ota's loud voices from travelling up the stairs. After a little while, a knock on the office door distracts me.

"Who is it?" I call, my voice a bit irritated.

"It's me." I should have known. "May I come in?" Before waiting for my answer, Alice opens the door and pops her head in. Her sandy blonde hair is down and hangs around her shoulders, I turn my head back to my desk.

"What do you want?" I try to concentrate on the task at hand.

"I have something that I need to say to you, also something I need to ask you." I grin to myself at her demanding tone, she still doesn't understand who owns who. "So may I please come in."

"You can talk just fine from where you are." I can't see her face but the image that flashes in front of me, is her pissed off face.

"Ugh, whatever." Her tone backs up what the image reflects. "So about the auction the other day and the woman being sold, I want to say I'm sorry for the dick head things I said to you. I just found out that you actually had decent intentions behind it."

"Oh, that? It doesn't matter." She scoffs.

"Ah, yes it does. It also shows that you are not a bad person after all, Eisuke. It's not the first time you saved a woman from an potentially bad situation." Alice pauses for a second. "You saved me." Hearing her say those words makes my heart beat slightly faster. "Maybe you're a nice guy." I give a throaty laugh at that, I need to stop her before she says something she regrets.

"Nonsense." Abandoning my work, I walk over to her as she stands in front of my now-opened door. "Do you have any idea what you are saying? You said you already know what kind of person I am." Her cheeks turn red.

"Well, yeah but I think you can be a tad bit reckless sometimes. Despite what I have previously said, I think that woman would be very grateful for you helping her." I turn my nose up, I care very little about how others think of me. Alice needs to understand that.

"I don't care in the slightest about what she thinks of me." Alice's eyes narrow slightly as she studies my face. Her lips pull to the side as if she's questioning what's been said.

"Yes, it actually does matter. Whether you want to admit it or not, it's important what other people think about you. When you act like this, which is about 95% of the time, there are many people who you meet in life that misunderstand you and hate you. Just like that yakuza man." I scowl at her, still being stubborn.

"I am not concerned about what others think." I spell out to her but she's already wound herself up.

"Even if you truly aren't, there are so many people who think you are cruel and want to distance themselves from you. Like me, for example." Alice looks at her feet. "If Baba and Ota hadn't told me the truth about that auction then I would still think you were a disgusting human being." I remain quiet at her silent admission. Her voice gradually getting quieter. "One day, you're going to get hurt; it should matter if people misunderstand your character." Her words catch me off guard and I'm shocked. "Eisuke." Her voice is now a whisper as she says my name. "I want to get to know you, the real you." I look away.

"That's enough." I break my silence, my voice almost a whisper like hers. Alice looks up and I gently smile at her as I look into her eyes, her lips part ever so slightly. "You seem to enjoy speaking to me with an attitude." It's not an accusation but more of a compliment. Her lips curl into a shy smile.

"I'm sorry." I break eye contact and look away again, letting out a small sigh.

"Don't underestimate me. I won't get hurt again."

* * *

 **ALICE**

His reactions are so quick and his words are quiet that I thought I misheard what he admitted. Again? Has he been hurt before? He looks at me again and the usual look spreads across his face, the mask fitted back into place.

"Why don't you go to bed instead of standing here talking nonsense? You've got a big day again tomorrow." Eisuke turns around and I'm caught in the whirlwind of what happened that I nearly forgot what I wanted to ask.

"Eisuke." He pauses before sitting down in his chair, still having his back to me. "About that prize, I want to split it in half. I would like to invite you out for dinner with me." He's quiet for a moment.

"Who are you inviting for the night?" His question catches me off guard.

"Um, I was going to ask Soryu." I blush and am glad he can't see me.

"That will not do at all." His voice is a little harsher than I expected. "How would staff react if they saw you spending the night with another man. Take Soryu out for dinner if you feel you need to. I will spend the night with you. Text me the details when you work them out." I close the door and stare at it in shock. It's so like him to make the final decision and it does irk me but what he said is true. It would blow up everything we worked for if I was caught in the hotel with someone else so I take out my phone and send a text to Soryu.

 _I learnt the truth about the woman, I am sorry about what I said and I would really appreciate if we went out for dinner on my day off, as I still have the prize to use. Eisuke will be spending the night with me but it's all to keep up appearances._ I feel guilty as the text sends but I know that nothing will happen between us. I think about the face Eisuke had on just before and sigh, the first genuine glimpse of Eisuke Ichinomiya; my phone chimes.

 _I understand. I shoudl have told you earlier to ease your mind, I truly am sorry for that so it would be my honour to escort you to dinner._ I smile at his humble reply. I do feel bad for whatever impression he has of me, I must look bad to both of them for inviting them to these. I sigh. _The heart wants what it wants._


	10. Confliction

_Pulls me in enough to keep me guessing  
And maybe I should stop and start confessing_  
 _Confessing, yeah_

* * *

 **ALICE**

For some strange reason, I've been getting out of bed earlier than I need to and making coffee for Eisuke and myself. He's always up earlier than me but considering I'm not a morning person, the fact that I am even awake at this time should be a tick for me.

"Here's your coffee." I hand him a cup and he just nods his thanks like he does every other morning. I don't bother watching him drink as I sit down across from him and check my social media.

"Just the right amount of sweetness. You are becoming more useful than I first expected." I look up from my phone to see that he has a smile on his face and I laugh in response, unsure on whether it was classed as a compliment or insult.

"Yeah, it's not hard to not screw up a cup of coffee that I make for myself every morning since I could drink it. To be honest, I'm actually surprised that you drink your coffee so sweet." His face grows stern at my remark.

"Your brain needs sugar for energy." He states. "If you ate more sugar, maybe it would make you smarter." I puff out my chest and meet his teasing smile.

"Excuse me, I am a hell of a lot smarter than what you give me credit for, actually I am a lot more of basically everything than what you give me bloody credit for." I pout a little as I realise he's teasing me. Ever since moving to Japan, I've tried to turn a new leaf over and cut back on my sugar intake and keeping fit; but I tend to splurge now and again. "I want to keep fit for my job, that's all."

"Are you worried about your weight?" His face turns serious as he looks me over, which makes me fidget a little. "You don't need to worry about that." I chuckle while sipping my coffee.

"Yeah, sure that's easy for you to say because you aren't interested in me.' His eyes meet mine and his serious gaze makes my heart pound.

"You are not allowed to lose any more weight without my permission." _Is this guy serious?_ "There are plenty of things that fit you perfectly just how you are." I raise my eyebrows slightly, strangely enough he paid me a compliment without some demeaning attitude and that makes me a little confident.

"Well, well if you notice a detail like that then you might have a hidden agenda." I giggle at the thought of how my day off is going to go now that I know he actually appreciates my body, sadly not my mind. "It's my day off in two days, that's when I would like to use my prize." His gaze becomes intense and I know I may be pushing things by demanding something from him but he agreed to it. "I've already invited Soryu out for dinner so it would be nice if I could book the room today too." His eyes narrow slightly at the mention of Soryu but the reason why escapes me.

"Do whatever you want. You need to day to relax as you'll need plenty of energy for me the day after." I nod to his agreement.

"Sure, well I best be heading off to work now." I drain the last of my cup and he gives me a nod farewell.

"Go ahead." I leave with a wave, lately he's been more responsive and I'm interested as to why, even I'm not that blind to notice something has changed between us.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Alice has been more lively around the penthouse since she learnt about why I held that auction for the woman, she's even been waking up earlier than usual to make me a cup of coffee before she goes to work. After telling me about her decision to still go out for dinner with Soryu, I became annoyed in their closeness; no matter who paid the $20 million, she's mine and yet everyone keeps vying for her attention. As she leaves, I feel her gaze upon me before she exits but I pay attention to my laptop, momentarily trying to still my annoyance while keeping up with current events. I need to show her who she belongs to but deep down I feel she will not be willing to submit to one man, no matter how possessive any of us are or how hard I try. _No, I always get what I want. I just need to play my cards right._

"Are you really that worries about who she's going to pick?" Baba smirks as I talk to Soryu, this has never been a problem before. He's never shown interest in women so why has he picked Alice?

"Who asked you?" Soryu and I both glare at him, Baba raises his hands in defence.

"Hey, Alice is a strong, independent woman all on her own. She's not going to let someone control her." Baba is correct but that makes it even more entertaining, I grin evilly.

"If she wants her freedom then she will do whatever I say." Ota chuckles at us.

"You are both being fools, since when have either of you been concerned about anything other than what's in it for you? Honestly, she wouldn't be very good as a pet; she's too stubborn for my liking." The two of them laugh at us but when Soryu pulls out his gun, they quickly shut up.

"Whoa, Boss can you tell Sor to quit it with the gun?" I fold my arms and smile.

"Why? This is quite enjoyable." Their eyes widen in fear and I know the fun's over. "That's enough. We have to get going anyway, we don't want to keep Carolina waiting." Soryu rolls his eyes and we leave, both knowing full well we left the conversation unfinished. Carolina will be happy to see us and to get my way, I need to tie Soryu up with her so he will stop going after Alice.

* * *

 **SORYU**

Eisuke really is a son of a bitch with his constant comments that cause Carolina to be all over me, she seems to like the idea of me fighting and pulling my gun out to get my point across. Her voice is too high pitch for my liking and I begin to remember Alice's singing from the competition, a sweet melody compared to the nail on chalkboard of Carolina. I find myself comparing the two women, from their personality to their dress sense.

"Oh Soryu, you must take Fang with you for the day; you two need some bonding time seen he likes you so much." Eisuke grins from behind her as she shoves the rat into my arms, I glare at him. I take my phone out and pretend that it's an important text from Inui.

' _You bastard, you can't even handle the slightest competition.'_ When he receives the text, he raises his eyebrows with a sly grin on his smug face. We both ignore Carolina's incessant chatting.

 _'Oh, well this should be interesting. Shall we make a bet?'_ I see his eyes gleam at the thought of winning, which he always does but I won't let him have it so easy.

 _'Fine, why not? She's a smart woman, let's see if she makes the right choice.'_ We make a secret bet before going back to the hotel. After Alice finishes her shift, she comes up to the penthouse lounge where we are already gathered. Her eyes fall on Fang, who I'm holding and her facials immediately steels when she realises what that means.

"So, I can assume you saw Carolina today." Her voice is slightly colder than usual and Eisuke smirks as he looks at me, I look away from her; unable to stand the sight of her that way.

"It's not like I have a choice in the matter, Carolina practically forced me to take him." The dog wriggles in my arms, Eisuke grins broadly at me; assuming he's managed to push a wedge between Alice and I.

"You two looked like you were getting along." I snap at that comment, it's rare for me to fall for his bait but I can't help myself.

"Shut up, I still can't believe you keep pushing that putrid pig on me." Alice stands wide-eyed at my outburst while the rest of them look between us and her with meaningful smiles on their faces. Alice just stands there confused.

"Pfft," Eisuke crosses his arms, "what do you care? You _hate_ women, remember?" His words drip with sarcasm as he gives me a smug look, I can feel myself about to break but glancing over at Alice, I try to compose myself. I don't want to do anything to ruin my reputation but I also don't want him to win. Baba and Ota chuckle from their spot on the couch.

"That's right, Soryu totally got set up and it's not good for the health to be cold towards an Italian mob boss' daughter." I sigh, hate to admit it but Ota's right about that.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I feel like there is something going on that I don't know anything about but between Ota and Baba's snickering and Eisuke's smug look, I feel sorry for Soryu.

"Eisuke even has trouble dealing with certain people, Carolina is the hardest person to deal with in any form of way." I smile softly at Soryu, trying to make him feel better and in return, Eisuke gives me a cold glare.

"I wouldn't call her a person." It takes everything in me not to laugh at how immature they are being about her. Suddenly, the conversation dies and everyone is staring at me.

"Um, did you just call him Eisuke?" Ota points at Eisuke with a look that's both shocked and amused.

"She did." Mamoru, who was blowing smoke out the window comes over to include his two cents.

"I just realised that too, when did this start?" I start to fidget, a blush spreading across my face. _These guys honestly notice the weirdest things._

"I don't know, it's not like I really paid attention to the details." I shrug. "Don't I call all of you by your first names?" Soryu looks at Eisuke with a cheeky grin.

"And you're okay with this?" Eisuke shrugs in response.

"I don't care what she calls me." His reply warms my heart a little. I still can't figure out what's going on between Eisuke and Soryu, they have always gotten along better than they do with the rest of the group; why are they acting this way suddenly? I look around everyone and they seem to be smirking about something but Ota has the biggest smile of them all.

"That's very surprising. I thought you would say 'who gave you permission to call me that?'"

"Um, excuse me but it WAS him who told me to call him that." I poke my tongue out at Ota who returns the gesture. Eisuke shakes his head at us and looks at Soryu.

"When do you have to go and see Carolina again?" Fang yaps at Eisuke from Soryu's arms. For someone who seemingly despises the owner, Soryu is cradling the small dog gently in his large arms. A shiver goes down my spine as an image of those arms bare runs through my mind, luckily it goes unnoticed. _Have they been spending a lot of time together?_ My heart sinks when I think that.

"I'm not going to go see her again, Inui will be taking the dog back to her." Baba walks over and gives Fang a pat on the head.

"Aren't you a cute little Chihuahua? He's pretty fond of you like his owner, I'm impressed Sor." Ota, surprisingly, doesn't pay much attention to Fang despite his strange dog comments that are always aimed at me.

"All animals love Soryu." Ota aims in my direction. "Eisuke, on the other hand." He tilts his head to both sides and I laugh at them.

"Well, it's not exactly surprising." Everyone looks at me, bemused. "I studied it, I kind of like animals better than people." I laugh at the fact that I work in a hotel despite that truth. Eisuke puts his hand towards Fang with an intense look on his face.

"Come." Fang responds with a growl and Eisuke looks away, a cute little pout on his lips. "Grr, not this one too." I continue to laugh.

"Soryu has a very dominant presence, animals would naturally look to him as an alpha; a leader. Dogs, especially are a very good sense of character and they will seek out an alpha or they will try to exert their own dominance." They are all giving me funny looks, with creepy smiles.

"Maybe she's not a dog after all. She doesn't seem to have very good judgement." I ignore Ota's snide comment. Everyone wants to be a comedian.

"Hmm, so he doesn't see Boss as the alpha." Baba covers his mouth to hide his laughter. "Must be sad to have them hate you when you love animals so much." That comment throws me off-guard. My initial judgement of Eisuke was wrong, not only does he like his coffee sweet, he's also an animal lover; maybe I am a bad judge of character after all.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

While everyone is making annoying comments, Alice stands there looking between Soryu and I; she walks over to Soryu and gives Fang a scratch behind the ears. The dog responds immediately to her touch and Soryu looks up at her with admiration; it irritates me watching them smile at each other. Alice takes Fang from Soryu and brings him over to me.

"You can't expect a dog to accept you by glaring at it, you have to earn his trust." She looks down at him lovingly and he snuggles deeper into her embrace and I find myself annoyed that the dog has so much of her attention. Alice takes my hand, which causes all the commotion going on around us to die down, her warm touch spreads through me as she slowly brings it towards Fang; despite him beginning to growl, Alice doesn't stop. "Shush, he's a friend." She slowly places my hand upon his small head and everyone waits with bated breath; I give Fang a little scratch before he turns away from me. "See, now that wasn't so hard." I'm not entirely sure who she is speaking to.

"Damn, I really thought he was going to bite." Soryu breaks the silence with a smirk on his face as Alice hands Fang back over to him. "Guess he knows who is the strongest." I look away from Soryu, there is no point in fighting back to that comment.

"I'm done." Alice tries to hide her grin from me but her eyes show it all. "What are you grinning about?" I glare at her and her face falls, she shakes her head.

"Nothing in particular." _Ugh, this is becoming a pain._

"I'm going upstairs, go make me some coffee." Her face steels and she gives in without a fight.

"Fine." She grumbles as she follows me upstairs.

* * *

 **SORYU**

I told Eisuke that it wouldn't be easy with her and her unintentional admittance about who was viewed as an alpha proves that even he can't win at everything. The little show with the dog did make me appreciate her smart thinking, tricking the dog into feeling safe enough so Eisuke could get a pat; she looked like someone trying to please a child. When he finally had enough, Eisuke did what he always does and commands her to do something for him only. Alice must be a masochist if she keeps letting him boss her around. _It's not like she has a choice in that matter._ I text Inui to come and collect the dog and I start to plan how I'm going to win her heart, I need to get into her good books since we are going out for dinner. _Maybe I should buy her a dress? That would really get in his face when he sees her wearing something another man bought her._ I leave shortly after Inui arrives to go and find her something nice. Hell must be freezing over if a mobster and CEO billionaire are fighting and trying to win the affection of one normal girl. I laugh wryly, Alice has no idea how badly she has us all wrapped around her little finger.

* * *

 **ALICE**

It's finally my day off and Soryu texts me early in the morning to meet him at an art gallery. To be honest, that takes me by surprise so I choose a comfortable ensemble of jean shorts and singlet with a open plaid jacket as it's a warm day.

"I'll see you after dinner." Eisuke's eyes widen slightly at the clothes I picked out, which are the complete opposite to what he would pick but he nods instead of making a comment. I meet Soryu in front of the art gallery and we begin to walk in when I notice the name of the main exhibit. "Ota Kisaki's World of Rainbows?" Soryu rubs the back of his neck, trying his hardest not to look nervous but it's almost adorable at how badly he fails at that.

"It started yesterday and I thought you might like it?" I give him a gentle smile.

"I do appreciate art but we spend enough time around Ota, I thought you would want to do something that you were more into." Soryu's face becomes serious, I knew he had brought me somewhere he didn't actually want to go to. "Take me somewhere you are interested in. We can go to an art gallery or see Ota's work anytime we want." He's slightly surprised by my comment.

"Well, you are dressed for something more outdoorsy." I tilt my head and he flashes me a smile that should be illegal while he takes out his phone to place a call. After a short while, a cheerful young man bounces up to us from a blacked out car.

"Boss!" Soryu gives him a donk on the head.

"Quiet, Inui!" I smile at them both, it's almost like a master and dog situation. _Ew, I'm starting to sound like Ota._ I follow them to the car and wait for the surprise location.

"Paintball?!" I can't hide my excitement as we arrive in front of a paintball warzone. Soryu smiles at me as he opens the door for me, like a perfect gentleman. "Wait, isn't the odds a bit unfair?" He begins to rub his neck again, a faint blush playing on his cheeks.

"Yes, I didn't quite think of that." I ignore his embarrassment and take his hand, leading him to the entrance.

"Don't worry, I know how to handle my own." We enter and begin our date officially, doing something that Soryu wanted to do. After the paintball game, Soryu takes me to his office to clean up for our dinner reservation. "That was so fun! I'm not even mad that I lost." As I enter the bathroom, I notice a beautiful green gown hanging on the wall; I look over at Soryu and he smiles at me.

"I thought you would like to wear that to our dinner tonight?" His kind gesture warms my heart and I close the door behind him. The dinner was amazing and his company was more relaxing than I first thought, we laughed and talked about me mostly, but it was a good night. On our way back to the hotel, we take a walk along the boardwalk by the ocean. Even though his exterior is serious and a little terrifying, Soryu turns out to be a gentler soul than he lets on and knowing that causes me to relax completely beside him. "Thank you for today." He smiles down at me causing my heart to flutter.

"No, thank you for the opportunity to make things up to you." His gaze relaxes as we gently bump into each other. "You sure can eat a lot for someone so tiny." I laugh at him, it's not the first time I've been told that by a date but it's the first time it was said as a compliment.

"Yeah, I guess it's different to the traditional woman." I don't know what type of woman would be classed as traditional for Soryu as he seems to have reservations about them all but tonight felt like we did become a little bit closer than before. We reach the entrance to the hotel and I feel a little sad that the night's ending. "Thank you for the wonderful day." His long fingers reach out to touch my cheek. "Soryu." His lips gently brush against mine as I whisper his name.

"Alice." His breath tickles my cheeks and I have to take a step back, looking down in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"No, it's that if anyone sees us..." He nods, already knowing what I'm going to say. I feel like an anchor is pushing down on my chest as his soft expression changes back to the serious face that he wears everyday.

"Good night, Alice." He takes my hand and plants a gentle kiss before turning his back and leaving. I sigh and make my way to the room booked for the evening with Eisuke. _I feel like some form of escort caught between these two men._

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Alice walks into the room and the dress she is wearing is demanding my attention, I know instantly that Soryu chose it and I want to get it off her as soon as I can. As she places her items on the table, she takes a deep breath as if wanting to say something, but knowing that I have bet to win and a possessive need to make her mine, I prevent her from saying a word.

"Come." I reach my hand out towards her and she raises an eyebrow.

"I'm not sure if we should do this." A smile plays on my lips.

"Do what exactly?" Alice's strong resolve seems to falter, her eyes glance over my attire and whatever strength she has seems to break and she grabs my hand. It's not unusual for me to have one night stands and I know that if Soryu was in my position he would take the chance to have her also, but she is here with me and I will make her submit. I sit her down on my lap and run the zip down her back; her body responding nicely to my touch. Her fingers nimbly unbutton my dress shirt and Alice brings her lips to mine. _My, my. She's more aggressive than I expected._ I find her strangely attractive in all her brashness, her caring smile, her emotions always playing on her face; but this night isn't anything more than to assert my dominance over Soryu.

"Eisuke." I drop the dress down her shoulders and it falls to her waist, her body shivers as the cool air of the room washes over her. Alice blushes deeply and she quickly stops her assault. "I'm not sure if this is meant to be happening." I can't hide the disappointment on my face, I have never been turned away before. "I'm sorry." She brings the dress up to her shoulders once again and runs out of the room. _I hate it when Baba is right._ This woman is all sorts of things and the one thing she seems to forget is that she is mine.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I run down to lobby, knowing full well that I left Eisuke sitting in our room alone; I wanted that, but after the moment with Soryu. I don't know how to feel anymore, these men are causing me to have heart problems. When I reach the bottom of the stairs, I bump into someone and nearly knock them, and myself, over.

"I saw you! I knew you were a tragic little tramp." It takes me a while to adjust to what's happening.

"Carolina?" She stands in front of me in a tight pink dress, with her arms crossed. A certain someone is standing a few meters back, watching the scene. "Soryu?" I thought he had gone to the penthouse for the night?

"I was taking Fang for a walk along the beach tonight and thought how wonderful it would be to have Soryu with me but before I could call him, I saw you alone with him! I suspected something was going on with you two from the very beginning and now I'm certain of it." What am I meant to say to her? No matter what I say in defence, she will never believe me now. "Hmph, I thought so. And where were you coming from now? Another man to help pay your way? You can't fool me! You aren't Eisuke's girlfriend at all, your just a little slut for these men to have their way with!" I snap at that.

"Wanna have a fucken go?" The heels allow me to have a small amount of height on her. "You can't go around accusing people of shit like that just because men aren't interested in your pig face."

"Well, what else is it? That suits you a lot better than believing that those two actually WANT to be around you." Our noses are nearly touching as we glare at each other with such hate.

"Why do you need to know everyone's business? Is life that fucken lonely that you gotta shove your face into everyone else's lives?" I have no other reply to what she saw so that's all I can throw at her.

"In that dress and walking along the beach, you're either their personal call girl or you are not really dating Eisuke. If you were, it would be him with you; but guess you have to steal away my Soryu too." Everyone is starting to watch on but I ignore them all.

"Ugh, you are the most stupidest person I've ever met! HE...DOESN'T...LIKE...YOU!" She takes a slight step back as I yell the words in her face.

"You all tricked me? How dare you! I'm calling Daddy." It's not until she says those words that I realise what I've done. _Shit, I've really done it this time._

* * *

 **SORYU**

After leaving Alice at the entrance, I head for my suite to cool off from the day; shortly after I receive a text from Eisuke.

 _'She can be a real pain in the ass. She's run off for some reason. Go find her'._ I grin as I make my way back towards the elevator, not even Eisuke can force a woman to do something when she doesn't want it. He must be really annoyed by that. When I reach the lobby, I freeze; Carolina is looking around with a slightly manic look on her face. _This is not good._ As I make my way towards her, Alice comes barreling down the stairs.

"I saw you! I knew you were a tragic little tramp!" Carolina and Alice immediately get into an argument and I quickly call Eisuke.

"You might want to get down to the lobby, quick. Alice and Carolina are getting into it." I hang up before he can say anything and watch as the scene unfolds, it's surprising neither woman has thrown a punch as both of them are the type to. Eisuke better get down here quickly.

"Daddy, yes you need to come down to the lobby right now!" The call to her father is short and I make my way towards them.

"Carolina, what's wrong?" Shortly after the call, Antonio Bucci exits the elevator. Carolina runs over to him and points at Alice. I don't hear what she says but by the look of their faces, I can guess. They slowly make their way towards us. "If you are right about this then it violates the rules of the family." Shit, I know what that has in store for all parties.

"I really screwed this up, all that hard work is for nothing." I want to reach out to comfort her but the mobster in me decides not to, it would make the situation even more and if I try to leave with Alice, that would just piss Carolina off even more. "That nosey bitch has become a pain in the ass, if she wasn't a mob boss' daughter I would punch her right in the face." I try not smile as I overhear Alice muttering to herself.

"What are you trying to do with my Soryu?" Carolina notices us standing next to each other and throws a glare at Alice. "Go find someone else to put your dirty whore hands on!" Mr. Bucci and Carolina stop in front of us.

"What's this about you being an escort?" Alice's mouth falls open at his question.

* * *

 **ALICE**

It's like I was hit in the face with a wet fish, an escort? Me? I look dumbfounded as he looks me in the eye, waiting for me to answer.

"What the fuck did you tell your Dad?" As I say those words, there is a different kind of commotion coming from behind us. I turn around, already knowing who it is that's causing it. "Eisuke?" He doesn't look at anyone as he makes his way down the stairs, his eyes intently burn into my soul as he walks straight over to me. He suddenly grabs me by the waist and pulls me away from Soryu and towards him.

"You took too long to come back. I wouldn't wait this long for anyone else but you." He touches my cheek with a tender finger and smiles, suddenly the anger fades and the heat from the hotel room returns.

"We're in the shit." I whisper low enough so only he hears me. His smile fades a little.

"Shut up." I should be used to his sudden changes but it takes me by surprise. "Bad girls who make their man feel lonely deserve to be punished." The smile returns and the arm around his waist tightens while he tilts my chin up and kisses me aggressively.

"Mmm.." I feel all the tension from earlier fade away, knowing full well that everyone is watching us but right now I'm needing this release and I melt into it.

"Mamma mia!" Carolina's loud voice sounds strangely distant over the beating of my heart in my ears.

"Good lord." Soryu's voice nearly causes me to pull away but Eisuke deepens the kiss before I can.


	11. Learn Something New

_Come to bed, don't make me sleep alone  
Couldn't hide the emptiness, you let it show  
Never wanted it to be so cold  
Just didn't drink enough to say you love me_

* * *

 **ALICE**

I feel the world spin around me as I melt in Eisuke's arms, everyone is staring at us but in this moment I couldn't care less. I slowly wrap my arms around his neck and go with whatever is happening. There's something different about this kiss but what it is eludes me as I'm caught up in the moment.

"Mmm..." I feel Eisuke's arms loosen and the deep kiss we shared is broken, he looks at me; ignoring everyone around us for a short while, his expression unreadable. Suddenly he looks up and notices the Bucci's.

"Oh, Carolina, Mr. Bucci." He plasters fake shock on his face. "I'm so embarrassed, I didn't notice anyone else here." He is such a liar but his false embarrassment seems to fool Mr. Bucci.

"Carolina, your accusations against Alice seem to be a little bit off, it clearly looks like things are going well between these two." Carolina looks between us with a stupefied look.

"But I seen her and Soryu together earlier." Both Eisuke and Soryu look at each other.

"Alice needed some help with things earlier today, I was too tied up with work so I asked Soryu to help her instead." I go along with the story.

"What you seen was me thanking Soryu for being the perfect friend and giving me a hand." My heart sinks as I refer to Soryu as a friend, I realise after today that the feelings I have for him are more than that. _I'm so damn confused._ I turn towards Mr. Bucci and give him a small bow. "I am so sorry for the misunderstanding." He gives me a small smile in return.

"I can't believe that's what happened." Carolina, in her state of disbelief, looks like a child stomping her feet. Eisuke sighs, inaudible to everyone but me.

"Please forgive me for the commotion." He gives Mr. Bucci a wry smile but Mr. Bucci looks over at his daughter and frowns.

"No, it is me who should be forgiven for my daughter's unacceptable behaviour. Her words towards Alice were very demeaning." He glares at her and she quickly straightens up.

"I'm sorry, Alice." Mr. Bucci turns to leave with Carolina on his heels. Eisuke doesn't waste any time by grabbing my waist and pulling me closer.

"Let's go back to our room." I nod, not wanting to cause anymore trouble but instead of heading towards the room we had booked, he takes me to the penthouse elevator. I don't see Soryu anywhere and a small pit opens up in my stomach. _I wonder what he's feeling right now._

* * *

 **EISUKE**

As the door closes, Alice quickly turns to face me.

"Look, I know I ran off and I'm sorry for that but don't you think kissing me like that in front of everyone a little over the top?" She has no idea what trouble she could have caused for me, if she had stayed in the room like a good girl instead of running off then none of this would have happened.

"I had to do whatever was necessary to convince Bucci of our relationship. It would have been wiser to stay in the room but no, you ran off so whose fault is it?" My question causes a blush on her already red face.

"Ugh, you really going to be like that? I already said I'm sorry." Her smart mouth normally irritates me but now I know I can use it for another purpose.

"I wouldn't even call that a kiss." I fold my arms and look down at her, I know her limit is approaching by the way she reacts to my words and bites her bottom lip. I turn towards her, her blue eyes widen as I push her against the glass wall of the elevator with an arrogant smile on my face. "Let me remind you what a real kiss feels like." I lift her chin slightly and kiss her before Alice can react. Her body responds exactly how I like, a small moan escaping from her throat. I deepen the kiss, my own desire running wild, eliminating the reasoning to keep her distant. Unbeknown to Alice, she pushes all the right buttons and I want her to feel all the frustration that she left me with when she ran out of the room; give her a punishment for making me wait. Alice leans into me, using my body to support her own as she wraps her arms around my neck. Both of our breathing becomes laboured as we hunger for another taste. _DING!_ Before long, the elevator reaches the penthouse and I pull away from her. "Go to your own room tonight." Alice doesn't resist when I get off the elevator and walk away. I don't know why I did that, why that kiss caused me to hunger for her skin under my own. It wasn't like earlier to win a bet or to convince the Bucci's, my heart beats uncontrollably and the feelings I have for Alice deepen and I have no clue what to make of them.

* * *

 **SORYU**

Alice called me a friend to protect herself from both Carolina and Eisuke, I know that but the words don't ease the uneasy feeling in my gut. I leave before they finish talking because I couldn't listen anymore. Carolina leaves tomorrow and with her gone, the game also finishes and I can truly work on winning Alice's heart before Eisuke pulls her further away from me. I head to the office to finish up some paperwork, Alice's clothes still draped over the chair where we left them and I know I have to get them washed and back to her. I can already imagine the stories Inui is making up after being the only Dragon to have seen us together. I run a bath and decide to call him, he's got a big mouth and I need to make sure he doesn't give anyone else the wrong idea.

"Inui." I grab Alice's clothes and place them in the washing machine.

"Boss!" Inui replies happily. "Is Princess still with you?" I cringe as I think where she could be right now.

"No," I snap. "and you are not to tell anyone about her." I wait for him to answer but his silence tells me everything.

"Well..." I rub my temples, this kid is sometimes more of a headache than he's worth.

"Who. did. you. tell?" I spit the words through the phone, my anger seething.

"I told Samejima but Boss, Princess is much more lovelier then that loud bitch and her yappy dog!" He tries to defend himself.

"Inui!" Even though he's right, I still have to reprimand him. "Don't tell anyone else!" I hang up before he can say anything and head into the bathroom. He keeps calling her Princess because he thinks she suits me, I wouldn't admit it to him but I did call her a queen and I can imagine taking control of the Dragons with her by my side.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I didn't know how to react to that kiss so I sink to the floor and try to get my heart to settle down. Through physical touch, Eisuke is easier to read than he thinks; that kiss was too intense for someone who was trying to prove a point. I do what he says and head to my apartment and try to get some sleep. It's finally the day Carolina leaves and as usual, she fawns over Eisuke and Soryu; paying little to no attention to me.

"Eisuke! I can't believe we have to say goodbye." She pulls him into a hug. "And now I'm going to be apart from my Soryu too, it's doubly sad!" She hugs Soryu, who looks extremely uncomfortable with the close contact. Both Carolina and Mr. Bucci are leaving so we came along to see them off, Eisuke has his arm around my waist to keep the hounds at bay.

"I'm looking forward to this deal, I think it will be very profitable." Mr. Bucci beams at Eisuke, who bows his head slightly.

"Likewise. Thank you very much." Suddenly, Mr. Bucci's face darkens and he gets a very serious tone in his voice.

"There are going to be some who won't be too thrilled about us joining forces. If you don't let your guard down, you will be just fine." Eisuke's face goes into his easy fake smile.

"Thank you for your concern." I patiently wait for things to move along, soon I will be free but sadly I may never see these two again yet I don't have to deal with Carolina ever again so I guess every cloud has a silver lining.

"See you later, Eisuke, Soryu." She blows them kisses. "I'll be back again soon so there is no need to be sad." I resist the urge to laugh.

"Next time, you'll have to go on a vacation with Soryu." Soryu throws Eisuke a death glare.

"Eisuke, you bastard." He hisses under his breath so she can't hear.

"Oh my, I can't wait!" She turns her smug face to me. "Alice. You will never be as good as me but try to work on it." I give her my biggest smile.

"Oh, love. Next time, I'll give you a run for your money." With that, the Bucci's leave. As soon as they are out of sight, both of the guys look like a huge weight has been lifted off their shoulders. _Now that she's gone, I can have them all to myself._ A naughty smile spreads across my face as the thought flashes across my mind and I try to squash it before the idea takes root.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

I decide to host a party once the Bucci's leave to celebrate the successful business deal.

"Despite your antics, gaining the Bucci's trust is a huge coup. Congrats." Soryu takes his jacket off and loosens his tie a little as we sit down on the couch. I know what antics he means and it causes me to grin widely.

"Everything went according to plan." I glance over at Alice who is neatly hanging our jackets, I take a sip of the wine I ordered; I'm in a very good mood and decide to let her have a win also. "Alice, pour me another drink." Despite her rolling her eyes at me, she obliges. I watch her eyes study the bottle as she pours the wine so I grab another glass and pour her one. "Drink up." I stand and grin at her, her expression questioning my motives. "Tonight's a celebration." A Japanese woman would be too shy to drink around a group of males but then Alice is not a Japanese woman and she is a lot more bold than most. As she takes a sip of the wine, her eyes wander to my lips and she bites her bottom lip seductively. "Can't keep your eyes off me?" A light blush colours her cheeks at my directness.

"What am I meant to do being surrounded by handsome men, drinking expensive wine? Keep my eyes to myself?" Her remark makes me chuckle, she wears her feelings on her face so when she takes another sip, I lean in closer to her; enjoying the little game she's playing. As far as I know, Alice has only kissed me and despite the longing glance between Soryu and her, nothing has happened while Carolina was around. Now that the Bucci's are out of the way, the game can truly begin.

* * *

 **ALICE**

"If you want to stare at my face so badly, I'll come a little closer." Eisuke leans in close and our lips nearly touch, the faint smell of wine on his breath with a smile playing on his lips. It's almost like a game of chicken and I don't intend to lose. A heat rises to my cheeks as I brush my nose against his and we both pull away.

"At first, I had no idea what was going to happen but it looks like Boss and Alice make a good team." Baba comments, I look at them.

"Admit it, I'm growing on all of you." I beam and they all laugh, Soryu looks a little shy about my remark so I pluck up the courage and sit on his lap. "So..." He looks me in the eye before quickly glancing around.

"Alice, what are you doing?" I put all my sex appeal into one look and lean in to whisper in his ear.

"I know about the bet, Soryu." Everyone ignores us as I hear him suck in his breath. _I knew it!_

"Alice has finished her job now that the deal has succeeded, right?" Ota suddenly brings everyone's attention to me, while I'm still sitting in Soryu's lap. They're probably thinking I'm about to jump at the chance of at freedom. "What's going to happen to her now?" He has a mischievous grin and I throw him a glare as I relax into Soryu's lap, his hands gently placed on my waist.

"It's not good to be irresponsible." Mamoru sips his wine before having a drag of his cigarette.

"Ha, that's hilarious coming from you, Kishi." Ota laughs. Instead of snapping, Mamoru smiles.

"Yeah, pretty convincing when I say it, aye?" I can feel Soryu's desire begin to rise as he slowly moves his hands but everyone's attention turns towards Eisuke for an answer, suddenly I realise I don't care about being free. As long as I am free enough to do as I please, I'm going to play along with their little game. Eisuke glances in my direction and our eyes meet. He smiles as if he can read my mind.

"I'll decide what to do with her from now on." I scoff under my breath. Typical, he has a bet in place with Soryu so there is no way I was going anywhere. It took me a while but I pieced things together enough and Soryu confirmed my suspicions; everything they have done that involved me in front of each other was to rile the other and then giving me special attention when we were alone? What do they take me for? I suddenly become angry at their game, a game that I decided to let them play but it still pisses me off that they are doing it for a bet. I take a sip off wine and it hits me along with the alcohol; I have feelings for them both.

* * *

 **SORYU**

When Alice told me about the bet, I didn't know what to say. She hasn't said anything since but after the announcement that Eisuke won't be letting her free, her mood changed. She's downed another glass of wine and is still sitting on my lap, moving her hips a little now and again, rubbing herself against me. I know she can feel me so I let myself go, enjoying her body against mine. Eisuke glares at me at times as I run my hands over her thighs and I smile at him, knowing that he would do the exact same thing if he was in my position. After a few more glasses, Alice becomes limp, stumbling as she stands to excuse herself. Eisuke clicks his tongue and before he can mover, I lift her up before she completely passes out and reluctantly takes her to his room, I think about taking her back to the office with me but after sitting on my lap, I'm not sure how long I could resist with her in my bed. After I return, Eisuke smirks at me.

"I wouldn't be too happy about it, she wanted me before but I know that you will look after her." I hiss under my breath and his smirk gets wider, I decide to say the one thing that will rattle him. "Also, she knows about the bet." The shock on his face makes it my turn to smile. The bet was his idea, his way too entertain himself and I was just stupid enough to go along with it but Alice knowing about it changes everything.

* * *

 **ALICE**

I open my heavy eyelids to an unfamiliar roof, glancing around I see Eisuke's back in front of me, dressed in only his shirt. I realise that I'm in his room and curse myself for letting myself get too drunk. I hear the clicking of a mouse and realise he's on his laptop, checking under the blankets I breath a sigh of relief that I'm still fully dressed. My sudden movements and sounds causes him to look over at me.

"You awake?" I try to sit up but my vision starts to spin and he sighs. "You drank a lot, you tried to walk into a closet saying you needed to go home so Soryu bought you up here." I blink at the confusion as to why Soryu would bring me up here but then I remember telling him that I knew about the bet, he's probably feeling a little ashamed.

"Yeah, sorry about that. I guess the alcohol was so delicious that I got carried away." I lie, I was angry at them so I drank to try and calm myself down. His face has an unreadable expression.

"The more flavorful it is, the high the alcohol content. Remember that." Instead of retorting, I nod, regretting it instantly. I knew that already but I don't have the energy to fight. After a moment of silence, Eisuke stands up and walks over to the bed, I find myself scooting over a little. "Are you inviting me into bed with you?" He has an arrogant smile on his face as he sits on the bed, chuckling a little.

"Well, it is a big bed, it would be pretty cold to sleep in it alone." I try to sound unfazed but I remember all the moments we shared and my heart starts to pound. "Eisuke, why did you do that the first night we met? It's been confusing me." He looks visibly confused.

"The night of the auction?" I nod, causing the world to spin once again.

"Yeah, I showed you my chest and you looked all weird." He looks down.

"Oh...that..." He's quiet for a second. _Ah, yeah...that..._ He looks at me in the eyes. "You mean when I let you go?" _Seriously? You going to ignore the weird deal about wanting to perv at my breasts?_ I try to go along with his way of thinking.

"Yes, to be honest, that's not the reaction I normally get." He looks away again, silence once again falling around us.

"I'm searching for someone. A woman who has burn marks on her chest." I gape at him, that's not exactly what I expected. "She's my younger sister but we've been separated since we were young." I manage to sit up a little, intrigued by this small glimpse into Eisuke's past.

"How did that happen?" I push for something more, a shadow of a smile on his lips.

"I wasn't born an Ichinomiya, I belonged to an old and prestigious family but when I was seven, someone from a rival company tricked my father and the company went bankrupt." My heart starts to break a little, hearing about the sad reality of his past. His face shows a small amount of vulnerability.

"So that's why you's were separated? What happened to your parents?" His face shows pain.

"My mother's health failed and she died. My father disappeared and because of that, my sister and I were adopted by two different families. I was adopted by my father's benefactor, Akira Ichinomiya. So that's how I joined the Ichinomiya zaibatsu." I stare there wide-eyed.

"Shit, I never would have imagined you weren't born an Ichinomiya. Do many people know?" His face goes back to it's usual mask, probably not realising my knowledge of things in Japan is mostly language and the hotel.

"I don't hide it, a considerable amount of people know. There are even rumours that I plotted to take over." I can't help but laugh. He's basically the top dog anyway so that wouldn't achieve much.

"It's only a rumour though?" Eisuke nods at my observation.

"Akira loved like I was his own and I've repaid every cent he ever spent on me. The money that built this hotel was earned by myself." Looking at him, you would never have guessed that he had a past like that.

"Soryu told me that you had a reason for starting the auctions. He said once I found out that then I would understand you better." He clicks his tongue.

"Of course Soryu would run his mouth to you." It seems Soryu knows that my curiosity will always win out.

"Do the auctions have to do with the past?" He's silent again.

"..." He pauses as he gazes at me. "I started them because they were fun. I hate being bored." I snorted.

"No shit." I whisper.

"I thought that because I was doing them then I might as well search for information about the man who bankrupt my father. I made many underground connections thanks to the auctions. I thought one would provide a clue." I shake my head, it's hard to believe this man deals with criminals of the underbelly.

"And have they?" He shakes his head, looking sad.

"...No. It happened a long time ago so I don't have an urgent need for revenge. I just want to know that truth." It's kind of sad to think about.

"Did you find any clues about your sister?"

"I heard she is living happily." I smile and nod.

"That's good but there must be some other information out there." He looks at me, questioning my interest.

"That's all I know. After I was adopted, I lived in England and by the time I returned to Japan it was too late but if she's happy and safe, I'm happy." I feel bad at my first harsh judgments, this man really cares about her even though he doesn't know her.

"I'm sorry for the careless things I said about you...I didn't know." I look at him sincerely. Eisuke returns my stare and sighs a little.

"Why am I telling you this?" His words confuse me also, he plays games but he's also opening up to me. Eisuke lies down with his back to me. "I'm going to sleep, you better get back to sleep too." I'm a little excited to sleep next to him so I reach out and place a hand on his back, trying to give him some form of reassurance.

"..." He doesn't respond so I lay down facing him. After a while, I hear Eisuke's deep, even breaths as he falls asleep. My curiosity wins out and I roll him onto his back gently to gaze at his sleeping face. _Ha, never would have thought he could look so vulnerable in front of someone else. Maybe he trusts me enough to open himself up... should I give him the same in return?_ His face looks so peaceful without a hint of the coldness it usually has. Watching his chest rise and fall, my heart begins to race, I'm seeing the real him and my God, he is beautiful. I find myself wanting to know more about him, I also find myself wanting to know more about Soryu and the reason why doesn't allude me in the dark confides of this room; I'm falling in love with them both.

"Eisuke..." I reach out, whispering his name. I gently brush the messy bangs from his eyes. What if this is something more to him too? Letting me see him like this, exposing parts of himself that he would never show anyone. I can't take my eyes off him as I place a hand on his cheek, taking the opportunity to watch him sleep so soundly.

* * *

 **EISUKE**

Ever since that night, things have been different with Alice; she's still cheeky and her normal self but I find myself not as bothered by it as I used to be. Soryu and Alice have been spending some time together on her days off as I am too busy with business to give her much time but we still spend our evenings together. I try to pay attention to what's going on in front of me but Alice keeps distracting my thoughts and a self-deprecating laugh escapes my lips. The woman in front of me frowns because she realises I'm not paying any attention but I know I need to play my part in this so I page Alice to get it over with. No matter how close we have become, it's time to stop mixing business with pleasure. Alice enters my suite with a pleasant smile on her face which fades when she sees the woman beside me.

"Um...you called?" She bows, quickly hiding her emotions behind a mask.

"..." I don't answer her, the only reply I give is placing my arm around the woman's waist and looking at Alice in the eyes, staring as coldly as I can. "I'm done with you." Her brow furrows for a second before she clears her throat, keeping composure.

"Pardon me, _sir?_ " The sarcasm in her voice shows me that neither of us are going to back down even as I stare at her as cold as I ever have, she stands her ground matching my glare. It doesn't matter how fond of her I have become, this game ends today.


End file.
